His Bride To Be
by MyFallenAngel
Summary: NejiTen, discontinued. Obviously, being a Hyuuga bride is not easy. It never is. Tenten knew that. But she also didn’t expect it to be this hard! Follow Tenten as she went through the preparations of being his bride to be!
1. Part 1

**Disclaimer: Did not own, not owning, and will never own Naruto!**

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**Dedicated to NejiTen fans. Put me in! I love this pairing soooo much!**

**Summary: **Being a Hyuuga bride is not easy. It never is. Tenten knew that. But she also didn't expect it to be _this _hard! Follow Tenten as she went through the preparations of being his bride-to-be!

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**DayOne: Studying **

**By MyFallenAngel **

--

It was a sunny day.

Tenten groaned behind the pile of books, encyclopedias, and dictionaries in front of her. This was too much for her! Being a twenty-four years old girl who loves to move around rather than stay at home doing something girlish, she obviously hated this kind of activity: studying.

"What is it, Tenten-san?" A woman around the age of thirty appeared behind the heavy books. "Do you need a drink? Something to eat? Anything I can get for you?"

_No,_ Tenten thought desperately, _I just need one thing. Freedom!_

"No, thanks." She replied, trying to keep herself calm. "I'm fine the way I am, Tsuki-sensei."

"If you had any questions, please don't hesitate to tell me, Tenten-san." Tsuki said as she returned her attention to the knitting in front of her.

Silence.

Tenten sighed heavily as she red the book in front of her.

Seriously, what had brought her into this?

Let's whirl back time a little, shall we?

"_Neji, why do you always train me?" She asked as she swung her kunai to him, which he easily dodged away. He stared at her numbly. _

"… _No reason." He answered lamely._

_She waved her hand. "Really? Then what should I do to thank you?" She grinned, "If it wasn't for you, maybe I will be ever so weak."_

_Suddenly he smirked. "You could do me a simple favor."_

_Her eyes lightened at once. "Really? I'll do whatever I can to thank you, Neji! I promise!"_

"… _Right." He smirked again. "Then marry me."_

_She laughed. "Is this some kind of joke?"_

"_No. I'm serious." His eyes were serious. _

_She was stunned. "Why?"_

"_I need someone to marry."_

"_But I can't! We're not even in love!"_

_He silenced, but being a smartass he was, he never loses. Not even in conversations. "I'm just asking you to do a favor. And you did said that you'll do everything you can. You're single, I'm too. We can marry."_

"… _You should ask someone else to do this kind of thing for you! Someone you love!" _

_He silenced again._

"_Someone else?" Tenten requested silently._

_He glared at her. "I can't ask Lee, that wouldn't be normal!" _

_Tenten laughed. "I didn't ask you to ask Lee, oh, Neji! I'm just asking you to ask somebody else. Like Sakura or Ino. Whoever." She waved her hands in dismissal. "Somebody you love. You show love to. Stuffs like that."_

_"Tenten." He ignored her waving. "How do people show love?"_

_She blushed. "Well, that is..." She shrugged again, knowing that she will have to make it quick since Neji never take back any of his words. "Physical interractions, gift givings... things like that."_

_He stared into her again, and this time she knew better than to stand still like that. She stepped backwards one step as she eyed Neji, a little suspiciousness appearing in her heart._

_"I see." He smirked._

_Tenten gulped again, and before she even knew it, her lips met. Her eyes widened, but she felt herself softening and returning the kiss softly. After a few seconds, he released her and broke the kiss._

_"Then say," He said with urgency, "Marry me."_

_She smirked. "No."_

_"Yes."_

_"Neji, a no is a no."_

_"But I say, yes."_

_She frowned. He could be so stone-headed when it comes to these things. "Make me." She told him._

_He smirked. "I will. Marry me, Tenten."_

_Tenten smiled. "Why me?"_

_"Because..." He sighed, "Maybe you're you and I am me."_

_"You need a better answer."_

_"... Fine." He smirked the famous Hyuuga Smirk. "I need someone to marry. You know that."_

_She groaned. "Do I have any choice?" She asked innocently. _

_"No." was his reply, which was ever so predictable. "You're doing me a favor."_

_She silenced, looking thoughtful._

_"Then?" Neji asked her. "A favor."_

_Right. A favor. But she did not think that marrying him will be a favor._

_Then again, she did have interest in him. And, there's nobody else in her life than him. And Lee. And Gai-sensei. And Shikamaru. Okay, there's lots. But maybe it's only him that she… feels affection towards to. _

_Maybe. _

"_Sure." She answered at last, although hesitantly._

That's it. No love confessions, undying care proclamations – that's it. A proposal. An agreement. Nothing else.

Now that Tenten thought of it again, she couldn't believe that she said 'Sure' out of nothing. Neji didn't promise her anything. He just asked her to be his wife, and that's all.

"... Shit." She muttered under her breath.

_How did I ever come to agreeing, anyway? I am such an idiot!_

She cursed, swore, and groaned that Tsuki appeared from the pile of her books again.

"What is it, Tenten-san?" She asked patiently.

Tenten faked an innocent smile. "Nothing, Tsuki-sensei." She assured, "I just need some fresh air."

"Well, you need to memorize this three hundred rules of the Hyuuga Clan first before you got your first break." Tsuki said, now her voice full of murderous intention. "That's what Hiashi-sama had ordered me to."

Tenten groaned. "Why was this even important, anyway?" She said, not realizing that she was saying it out loud until Tsuki replied her question impatiently, "Because, Tenten-san, Hyuuga Clan is one of the earliest clans in Konoha. The mother of all mothers. We have rules that are different from any other usual low ninja rules. Hyuuga Clan had bear children of all the clans!"

"Yeah, yeah." Tenten said. "I know, Tsuki-sensei."

She leered at her and returned to her knitting again, muttering, "I can't believe Neji-sama had chosen somebody this stupid to be his wife!" under her breath.

Tenten glared at her behind all the books.

_I have to find a way to get out of here._

_Fast._

_But how?_

--

A new story. Oh, I'm so addicted to this couple! Tell me your ideas!

Reviews, please!


	2. Part 2

**Disclaimer: Naruto's not mine and you all know that.**

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**Day One, Night: Consequences**

**By MyFallenAngel**

She was a weapon kunoichi. People knew that. And people have to be aware of her, since she was not as innocent as she shows them. At least, now she was happy.

Happily free at 6.30 PM.

Yeah, it took hell long to get free from that Tsuki woman.

She grinned as she gazed at the Hyuuga compound from a tree quite far, far away. She had managed to escape after pinning Tsuki-sensei to the wall with her sharpest set of kunais. Well, it was worth it anyway.

Nothing, and she means nothing, could compare to the sweet scent of freedom.

"Oi!" She heard a familiar voice under the tree. She looked down and smiled at the figure of Nara Shikamaru - one of her boy best friends. She leaped down and sat beside him. He frowned at her and arched his eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm having a nice, peaceful relaxation." Tenten said happily.

"I thought you were locked up in the Hyuuga's main house? Studying all that troublesome things to become..." He smirked and paused, to add a dramatic scent to his sentences, "Neji's bride?"

This time it was her who frowned. "How did you know that?"

"Of course I do." He said, yawning. "People talk about it nowadays, you know."

She whirled back and stared at him, curiosity, anxiety and confusion all in her brown eyes. "What do you mean - people?"

He stared at her. "You mean, you don't know?"

"I don't know what?" She shot back.

Shikamaru groaned. "No way!"

"What?" She demanded as she took the end of his collars and shook him desperately. "Shikamaru! Open up!"

"Jeez." He sighed as he struggled himself free. "I mean people."

"Who people?"

"All people."

"What do you mean by all?"

Shikamaru stared at her with a 'you're-annoying-me-you-troublesome-brat' look on his face. "All." He repeated solemnly.

"All?" Tenten asked, desperate to know who 'all' is.

"All." He said firmly. "All people in Konoha, okay?"

Tenten's eyes grew larger at once. "But how?" She whined.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Well," He stated skeptically, "The invitation of your wedding had gone all over the place, you know? It's open for free. The posters are everywhere. You could even see one here." He stood up and went to the back of the tree.

Tenten followed to where his finger was pointing.

And much to her horror, an invitation poster of the wedding was being pasted there.

It's a large poster.

No, it's not even large.

It's huge. Enormous. Gigantic.

"No!" She whispered loudly, and Shikamaru stared at her. "Pity you." He said gently. "It must be troublesome to get married with a man from such prestigious clan like Hyuuga, eh?"

Silence.

"Tenten?" He started curiously as he realized that the girl was stunned. He shook her shoulders. "Oi, Tenten!"

"Oh no." She whispered again.

"What?"

"Oh, no!" She shrieked.

"What?" Shikamaru demanded.

"Oh, NO!" She panicked this time.

Shikamaru glared at her but received no respond.

"OH NO!"

He was finally getting enough. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her harder, harder and harder until her eyes finally dawned on him. She stared at him innocently.

"Yes, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru groaned. "Whatever." He shrugged. "Why were you 'Oh-no'-ing some seconds ago?"

"Oh, right!" Tenten looked like that she was just zapped back to reality. "There's some Hyuuga ninjas chasing after me here." She pointed down the hill, where more than ten ninjas were running upwards. "There they are."

His eyes widened.

"Tenten-san! Tenten-san!" The guards shouted as they went closer and closer.

Tenten was stunned.

Shikamaru too.

And they were in a not-very-good position: Shikamaru's hands on Tenten's shoulder.

"Tenten-san!" A woman who Tenten quickly recognized as Tsuki appeared in front of all the ninjas. She glared at Shikamaru, which he returned with a dumb stare. "Wow, who did we find here?" She said sarcastically, "Neji-sama's fiancée with somebody who happens to be a boy!"

Shikamaru groaned, but he knew that it was way too troublesome to protest the woman's sarcasm. He quickly released Tenten's shoulder and stood there, staring at the clouds ignorantly.

"Tenten-san?" Tsuki arched her eyebrows cockily.

Tenten gasped. "Oh. Right. I'm sorry."

"Not I'm sorry!" Tsuki yelled at her. "Hyuuga girls say 'I apologize', not 'I'm sorry'! 'I'm sorry' for the weaklings!"

_What?_ Shikamaru's ears felt numb as he listened to Tsuki's lecture on how Hyuuga girls differ from other girls.

"And who is this?" Tsuki turned her attention to Shikamaru, who immediately noticed the glare on the woman's eyes. He glared right back, and Tenten nudged his waist. Hard. "Are you, by any chance, Tenten-san, cheating on Neji-sama?"

"No!" Tenten said, feeling dejected. "I'm not cheating with him!"

"I demand a full explanation at the compound." Tsuki said, ignoring Tenten's full pleading and Shikamaru's smirks. She guarded them to the Hyuuga main house and harshly pushed the two inside Hiashi's meeting room.

Tsuki knelt in front of Hiashi. "I apologize for taking your time, Hiashi-sama." She said politely, "But we have a situation here. Tenten-san was just found with this boy, having physical interaction outside the Hyuuga compound. She had managed to escape from private studies and pinned me against the wall."

_Physical interaction, physical interaction! Why did she make it sound so serious?_

Hiashi turned to Tenten and Shikamaru, both standing awkwardly in the room. Tenten was biting her lips, playing her kunai, which she hid behind her robe, while Shikamaru was examining the room with an annoyed look on his face.

"Tsuki, you may leave." Hiashi said firmly, and the woman left without saying anything in denial. He turned to look closely at Tenten and Shikamaru. "Now, Tenten? I want to hear an explanation. Is this a boy from the Nara clan?"

"Yes, he is, Hiashi-sama." Tenten said, nodding quietly before Shikamaru can say anything.

"What are you doing with him?" He interrogated, still firmly.

"We were... just talking, Hiashi-sama."

"Hmm. I see. What's your relationship with this Nara boy, Tenten?"

Tenten looked down. "We're best friends."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

"Well..." Hiashi breathed heavily. "We should just wait Neji's complications of this."

"Ne-Neji's?" Tenten looked bothered, but she hid it cleverly when Hiashi turned his attention to her.

"Yes." The Hyuuga Clan leader said. He knocked on the door and it slid open, revealing a servant. "Send Neji here." He told the servant clearly, firmly, and he disappeared.

Seconds of silence passed, and Tenten was very thankful that Shikamaru stayed quiet. Not long after that, a knock was heard and the door slid open again, this time revealing a Neji behind it.

He looked surprised to see Tenten and Shikamaru inside, but nevertheless he stood and knelt before his uncle.

"What is it, Hiashi-sama?" He asked calmly.

"Raise, dear Neji." Hiashi said and Neji rose up, staring at Tenten, which she returned with a 'please-help-me' look on her face. The clan leader placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder and started, "Tsuki had seen your fiancée having physical interactions with this boy from the Nara clan. Do you, or do you not, have anything to say on that?"

"Physical interaction?" Neji repeated as he gazed at Shikamaru, who was really, really silent by now. "Shikamaru is Tenten's friend."

"She said they're best friends." Hiashi interrupted, and Neji quickly said, "Yes, yes. I mean best friends, Hiashi-sama."

"Nara... What's your name? Shikamaru, isn't it?" Hiashi turned to the Nara boy. "I need to ask you some questions."

Oh, please, no. Tenten thought, but she knew there's no way to go against Hiashi-sama's will.

"Are you, or are you not, against the wedding of Tenten and my nephew?"

Tenten blushed when hearing this, Neji smirked silently, while Shikamaru silenced.

Silence. A real awkward silence.

"Well?" Hiashi arched his eyebrows, not satisfied with the silent attitude of the Nara boy.

Tenten eyed Shikamaru with an urgent look in her eyes. She then realized something, more to her horror than to her happiness - he was sleeping. Soundly. Peacefully. Whatever. But he was dozing off!

Her jaw dropped. She was about to hold out a hand and shake Shikamaru furiously, but she stopped when she remembered that physical interactions were her problem. The reason why she was here with a dozing Shikamaru, a very firm Hiashi, and a quite pissed off Hyuuga Neji.

She eyed Neji, pleading for help. He received her signal and walked to his uncle. "Hiashi-sama?" He asked, "I think I need to go back right now."

_Wha? _

"Oh, all right." Hiashi waved his hand to dismiss his nephew.

Neji walked out of the room, leaving Tenten stricken by horror.

_He's abandoning me!_ She thought madly, leaving a mental note to kill him afterwards. Well, if she lives pass this interrogation, that is.

She stood up, exhausted after kneeling for more than fifteen minutes. "Hiashi-sama." She said as she moved closer to Shikamaru and kicked him awkwardly to wake him up - which he did, thankfully. "I'm sor- I apologize. This will never happen again."

"I heard you, Tenten." Hiashi said sternly. "I don't want to hear anything of this again next time." Shikamaru yawned as he strectched his back, but Hiashi took no attention on this. Tenten, who by now was actually very pissed off too, had taken his full attention.

"Alright." Tenten nodded.

"Can you promise me that?"

"Yes."

"And can you promise me to not abandon your study periods with Tsuki, ever again?"

"Yes." She replied, although hesitantly.

"And to never meet with Nara Shikamaru until you are fully wed to Neji?"

Her eyes widened in horror.

"Can you?"

"... Fine." She whispered.

"Then you're dismissed." Hiashi waved his hand, and Tenten gladly flew away from the room, Shikamaru following behind her.

"That was way troublesome." The shadow boy said as soon as they arrived outside. He yawned again. "I can't believe he forbade you to do that sort of things, Tenten."

"I know!" Tenten whined. "I'm going to kill Neji!"

Shikamaru frowned. "I'll be going then." He said, waving his hand.

"Wait!" Tenten grabbed his arm and stopped him. She immediately let go of him when he turned back, arching his eyebrows as in asking, "What?"

"I just want to ask you something." She confessed.

"Yeah?"

"When will the wedding be?"

Shikamaru arched his eyebrows again. "You don't know?" In his voice was disbelief and amusement.

Tenten nodded. "Neji won't tell me." She said angrily. "He keeps everything to himself, that boy! If you're invited, then you must know the right date, right?"

"... It's around a week from now." Shikamaru frowned. "How come you don't know?"

"_A week_?" Tenten shouted.

Shikamaru took a step backwards. "Yeah."

"NO WAY!"

"Well, I'll let you deal with your shock. Bye!" The shadow boy ran off, leaving Tenten in her confusion.

But oh no, Tenten was not going to lose that easily. She caught up with him. "I need your help." She said quickly, stopping him once more.

"... Well?"

"Rip ALL posters of the wedding." She hissed. "Please."

"All?"

"All." Tenten said surely. "Please, Shikamaru? Pretty please?" She gave him puppy eyes, which she knew he could never reject. Much to her happiness, he nodded aimlessly after muttering a "How troublesome." Under his breath.

"Goodbye, then." He waved his hand and walked away.

"Thanks!" Tenten called after his back, and stormed off to the private training grounds the Hyuugas had. She was definitely going to kill Neji - that is, if she can. He's much stronger than she was; she knew that for a fact already.

"Neji!" She screamed at him when she finally arrived at his side.

He looked at her questioningly.

"You are so, so, _so_ dead!"

Neji raised his eyebrows. "I'm alive." He said sarcastically.

Tenten snickered at his reply. She stomped at him again, and held up her hand to slap him. He easily took her hand and held it hard, not letting her go.

"You lose." He smirked.

Tenten tried her best to ignore that somehow charming smile. Charming, but deadly annoying! "Why did you leave me like that?" She demanded crossly.

"I know you could deal with Hiashi-sama." was his reply.

"But I need your help!"

"You didn't. That's why you're here." He said calmly. "I trust you."

_Trust._

_Trust._

_Trust._

Tenten's eyes twitched.

Did Neji just say trust?

Since when did he start trusting people?

"Is that you, Neji?" She asked hesitantly.

He smirked. "Who else it might be?" He shot back.

"Did you just say that you trust me?"

"Yeah. So what?"

"Did you really mean that?" Tenten asked urgently. It was not often for Neji to trust, and when he did come to trusting people, she never thought it was her who will get his trust.

He blushed a very little glow of red. "Yeah." he said and quickly made an effort in changing the subject, "But why were you having 'physical interactions' with Shikamaru?"

"Damn you, Neji. Don't bring that up!"

"Ah. Be prepared."

"Huh?" Tenten stared at him, taken aback by his sudden weird words. _Be prepared? For what? _

"Everything had their own consequences, Tenten." He said quietly, making his way to her, "And dealing with me also had its own consequences."

He leaned in and kissed her forehead lightly. "Goodnight." He smirked and left Tenten.

Tenten blushed.

"Goodnight." She replied, but apparently he was gone.

--

I can't help OOCness! (sigh) I think Neji was somehow OOC in some parts up there. What do you think?

Review please!

Thanks!


	3. Part 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!**

--

Day Two: Kitchen Chaos By MyFallenAngel 

--

Cooking.

As in dealing with fires, kitchen knives, tomatoes, carrots, beefs, and forks.

As in dealing with apples, stoves, ovens, baked potatoes and napkins.

Tenten frowned unhappily.

"Yes. I see that you have see our schedule for today, Tenten-san." Tsuki said impatiently. "We are going to cook. We will be trying one simple egg recipe you can use when you are married with Neji-sama, Tenten-san. And to finish it off, we will try to bake a cheesecake."

Egg.

Oh yeah.

Dealing with the thing hens produced too.

"Now, shall we proceed to the kitchen?"

_No_, Tenten thought, feeling sick all of a sudden as she forced a weak nod and followed Tsuki to the kitchen.

She gazed around.

Oh, if only the air wasn't so heavy.

It was lighter back home.

Tenten hates kitchens. She hates cooking. She never cooks. She hardly enters the kitchen back home. It was her mother who did all the cooking, and her who did the eating. Oh, and cleaning sometimes.

That's enough for the reasons on why Tenten hates kitchens, I think.

"Here. Try to break this egg. You have cook before, haven't you?" Tsuki arched an eyebrows, clearly not pleased by Tenten's look. The weapon kunoichi gulped. "Err..."

"Hyuuga girls never say 'Err'. They give complete answers with no stuttering."

_Then what is Hinata to you all?_ Tenten wanted to scream that out loud, but restrained herself quickly before letting her guards down. Hinata was from the Main House. She received much more understanding than Branch Houses did.

And in her case, she's categorized from the Branch.

"Okay." Tenten replied, gaining back her composure. "I haven't cook before, Tsuki-sensei."

"That's way idiot." Tsuki muttered under her breath, turning to the eggs. She handed one to Tenten, who took it guiltily. She stared at it.

"Have you ever tried to break an egg?" Tsuki interrupted crossly as she took another egg and broke it perfectly. "See? It's easy!"

Tenten grunted and crashed her egg with the table edge. "Slowly." Her impatient sensei said, but it was too late. Slowly was not even in Tenten's dictionary of cracking eggs. She had failed miserably, and now the poor, poor egg was practically dripping to the floor.

"... Crap." She muttered under her breath as she realized that Tsuki was practically glaring at her.

"Hyuuga girls never curse." Her sensei told her sternly. "I don't want to hear any curse word again. Got it?"

"Yeah."

"Hyuuga girls..."

"Never said 'yeah'. I know. Yes." Tenten cut her out, feeling sick of all the rules of Hyuuga Girls.

"Hyuuga girls..."

"Never cut people. I get it!"

"You just cut me."

"Then I'm sorry!"

"Hyuuga girls..."

Tenten was about to interrupt, but she stopped herself so that Tsuki can finish her sentence first.

"Hyuuga girls never say 'I'm sorry'."

"Right." Tenten said quietly, feigning the politest smile she could feign, "I apologize, Tsuki-sensei."

"Fine." Tsuki said coldly, giving her another egg. "Let's return to our cooking, shall we? First, you knock the egg slowly to somewhere with hard surface..."

And around the fifty-second egg, Tenten had finally managed to break an egg, perfectly.

--

"Now, we'll move to baking a perfect cake." Tsuki said, clapping her hand as she gazed at the mess Tenten had produced by breaking more than fifty eggs. "Well, we could do some cleaning first."

Cleaning! Tenten's eyes lightened up. She loves cleaning - simply because she could do it. Perfectly.

She took a wet napkin, which was prepared on the side of a sink and walked to the mess she created, until a hand stopped her.

"Hyuuga girls don't clean."

Tenten was stunned. "They don't?"

"No." Tsuki replied quietly. "It is the servants who do that for them."

"Servants?" Tenten narrowed her eyebrows. "But why call servants when you can do it yourself?"

"It's a tradition."

Tradition.

_Damn tradition._

"But I could clean!"

_Please, let me do it. It's the only thing I could do right when I'm here!_

"No." Tsuki's voice was firm. "Servants!"

Two girls younger than Tenten immediately came in front of them.

"Clean up this mess." Tsuki ordered. "While then, let me show you the recipe of the cheesecake we'll be making, Tenten-san."

Tenten stared as she girls began cleaning.

Oh, really.

Such stupid tradition from such prestigious clan.

She did not see this coming.

"I will clean the mess up." She said suddenly, loud enough that the servants looked up to her. One looked confused, one looked like she was looking down at her. "I can do it." Tenten glared at the servants. "Go."

"Tenten-san!" Tsuki protested, but Tenten's determination was like hell. She turned to the servants, pride shown in her eyes. "I said go." She said firmly, and the servants went out.

Tenten took the napkin and began cleaning, leaving Tsuki and her jaw dropping down.

"Tenten-san, you couldn't!"

"I could."

"... But you're a Hyuuga girl!"

"I will be." She smirked as she began washing the plates. "But you did say that when Hyuuga girls are determined, they have to do what they think is right. Right, Tsuki-sensei?"

"That is..." The older woman looked troubled.

"It's okay." Tenten said, fastening up her washing. Five minutes after that, the kitchen was as good as new. She put her hands together, giving a satisfied smile to Tsuki. "What will it be now? Cheesecakes?"

"Yes." Tsuki had managed to gain back her composure while Tenten was cleaning. She handed her the recipe book, and Tenten eyed it quickly.

"We have the ingredients here." Tsuki opened up a drawer and took out oatmeal biscuits, a can of butter, and a can of cream cheese, ricotta, caster sugar, sour cream, vanilla essence and zest from lemons. "The eggs are prepared here." She pointed to a certain place where three eggs were sitting down peacefully.

Tenten eyed the recipe once more. She moved to the oven and preheated it to 230 celcius degrees, as Tsuki placed the oatmeal biscuits in a food processor and started to blitz them. She stopped when they had become very fine crumbs.

"What next?" Tenten asked heavily, not liking the fine-looking crumbs.

"You could melt the butter." Tsuki said, and Tenten started to melt the butter on a pan.

"Here." The sensei continued, taking the now melted butter and poured it over the crumbs, and began stirring the weird mixture equally. Tenten sighed as she prepared a springform tin, and Tsuki pressed the mixture on the sides of the tn, creating an even layer.

"Gross." Tenten breathed.

She stepped backwards, but Tsuki pulled her closer. "You have to mash this." She ordered quietly, placing a big bowl in front of her. Inside was cream cheese.

Tenten grunted unhappily and began mashing the cream cheese as Tsuki added the ricotta, sugar and sour cream as she mashed the mixture. She also added the eggs, vanilla essence, and the zest.

Before Tenten even knew it, she had snatched the bowl and had poured the mixture into the disgusting-looking biscuit-crumb layered cake tin. Tsuki cleverly put it inside the oven.

"Now all we have to do is just wait." She said, clapping her hand in glee.

"Right." Tenten groaned as she walked outside of the kitchen, feeling happy for the first time of the day.

But that is, until Tsuki stopped her again. She dragged her to a room near the kitchen and forced her to sit there, plopping a big encyclopedia of cooking on her lap.

Tenten's eyes widened.

"Learn that for ten minutes." Tsuki said. "I'll put the alarm clock here. If it reaches ten minutes, it will ring. You could happily learn the words there, Tenten-san. I need to go grocery shopping."

And Tenten knew better than to protest.

She dug her head into the book as the door slid closed, meaning Tsuki was gone.

Slowly, but surely, she dozed off to sleep.

--

"I care for you." Neji said.

"Really?" Tenten blushed. "Me too."

"... Tenten."

She looked up and gave him a warm smile. "What is it, Neji?"

"Tenten-san! Tenten-san!" He echoed.

She raised her eyebrows. Since when Neji called her Tenten-san?

"Tenten-san!" He continued and he leaned in, closing his eyes. Tenten blushed. Was he going to kiss her? She closed her eyes and leaned in too.

"Tenten-san!" Another call, and this time Tenten felt someone grabbed her shoulders and shook her wildly.

She opened her eyes, only to see no Hyuuga Neji in front of her, but Tsuki, who looked -oh, no- terribly mad.

"Huh?" Tenten frowned.

"Hyuuga girls never sleep when it's not the time to be sleeping! Have you memorized this all?" Tsuki asked as she touched the big encyclopedia in front of Tenten.

The weapon kunoichi gulped, feeling horribly guilty. "Not yet." She answered, looking at her feet.

"And have you take the cake from the oven?" Tsuki asked again.

She gulped again. "... No." She said, barely audible.

Tsuki's eyes widened. "Oh, Tenten-san!" She cried and ran into the kitchen, Tenten following behind.

To their horror, the kitchen was a mess! Their cake had burst and its crumbs were flowing everywhere! Tenten shrieked, hardly believing what's in front of her face, while Tsuki panicked.

"... What the hell!" Tenten said as she rushed inside and trying to stop the flow of the cake with her body, but instead of stopping it, she made the flow faster.

"Stop this!" Tsuki yelled. "Servants!"

And then they came running in.

"Clean this mess and throw that cake away!"

And soon the servants were running here and there while Tsuki pulled Tenten away from the kitchen.

"That's why Hyuuga girls never clean!" She told her sternly, "When we're baking cakes, we usually put a special ingredient to make the cake bigger! That's why I put ten minutes on your alarm, and you fell asleep."

"I'm sorry." Tenten said, feeling horrible.

"Hyuuga girls say 'I apologize'."

"Yes. I apologize, Tsuki-sensei." She said, really feeling guilty.

Tsuki groaned. "Apology accepted. Now you have to go to your room and clean up yourself. Take a bath, since we will be having dinner with the Hyuuga elders tonight!"

"Yes, Tsuki-sensei." Tenten replied, muffling her denial deep down her heart. She had done wrong, she will try to not do anything wrong again.

At least for the rest of the night.

She walked to the direction of her room, thinking about her 'lessons' with Tsuki. Nearly all of them turned out bad. Or even chaos. She was surely not cut out to be a Hyuuga bride, really. All their rules, their dignity, their pride, and such did not match her lifestyle. At all.

She was so deep into her thoughts that she bumped into somebody none other than her future husband - Hyuuga Neji.

And yeah, she succeeded greatly in making him dirty. He was now covered with crumbs too.

"Whoa, Neji! I'm sorry!" She said automatically and apologetically, forgetting how Hyuuga girls say 'I apologize', not what she had just said before.

He stared at her and examined her clothes. "Wow." He said after a while. "What happened to you?"

"... Nothing." She waved her hand in dismissal as she began to walk away from him, but a hand stopped her. She turned back and met face-to-face with Neji. "What is it?" She groaned.

"You're a mess." He observed carefully.

"I already said I'm sorry!" She groaned again and rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Oh right. I forgot that I should have say I apologize than I'm sorry. What the hell."

He gave her a laugh. "Anything's okay with me." He told her. "Take your bath and I'll escort you to the Hyuuga main house one hour from now."

"One hour?"

"Girls need a long time to take a bath, I gather?"

"Not me." Tenten said. "Give me fifteen minutes, and I'll be ready."

"It's a formal affair, don't forget. Your kimono will already be prepared in your room, I think." He explained, "Well, fifteen minutes it is. Be quick."

"Okay." She said weakly.

Maybe a normal dinner will be very good to cover up her whole kitchen chaos today.

_But a dinner with the Hyuugas?_

_I'll be dead_, she thought grimly as she entered her bathroom.

--

That was all. (Groan) I should have make longer chappies, but I'm sorry. Got not much time, you see. I move around a lot nowadays, and school works are just grating my nerves. I'm trying to catch up with all the mess I left…

Reviews!


	4. Part 4

**Disclaimer: Not owning Naruto and ya'll know that! Yippee!**

--

**Part Four: Dinner**

--

Tenten stared at her reflection in the mirror.

She was wearing a kimono. Not a usual kimono, but a very beautiful one made of rich silk imported from Suna. It was long, the sleeves practically touching her ankles, and it was light pink with white lilies sprinkled on it. A red obi was wrapped on her waist, leaving a small space between her kimono and obi to put weapons in it. ("A ninja must be ready to fight anywhere." Neji had said that to her, and she had dearly adored that rule.) Her hair, for once, was being combed smoothly and bundled tightly on the back of her head, making only one bun. Tsuki had wanted to put on some make-up, but (thankfully) she had managed to escape that part.

"I look horrible!" She wailed.

"You don't." Tsuki said quickly, sprinkling some perfume on her hair. "In fact, you look nice that I believe Hiashi-sama would love to have you marrying Neji-sama as soon as possible. You are a nice bride."

_Bride._

Tenten choked.

Oh right, the reason she was here was because she will be marrying Neji for days after today.

Why did she agree to him, anyway?

She shrugged.

"Tenten-san, please." Tsuki said as she sprinkled some more perfume on her obi. Tenten coughed, smelling too much fragrance on her nose. "You have to behave. It's not often Hiashi-sama invites someone on formal dinners, even his own family member!"

Tenten coughed again. "Why am I asked, then?"

Tsuki looked a little thoughtful. "Well..." She stated, "It may be because you are marrying Neji-sama."

"How is Neji more important than his family members?" The weapon kunoichi frowned as she sniffed, making herself used to the strong scent of the perfume. "Oh, and Tsuki-sensei, please stop. The smell is not that good."

She stopped and put the perfume flask on the table as she turned towards Tenten. She checked on her obi, tightening it once more again, and continued on her babblings. "There will be another couple besides you and Neji-sama who are invited to this formal affair." She said quietly, not likely for anyone to overhear their conversation, "Hyuuga Maiko and his bride, Chouko Shizuka."

_Why am I learning this again?_ Tenten was about to ask, but she kept silent when she noticed the urgency on Tsuki's face. Instead, she asked, "Why was this ever so important, Tsuki-sensei?"

"Because," Tsuki answered confidently, "Maiko-sama hates Neji-sama for life, and he will do anything to embarrass Neji-sama. Or you, because you're Neji-sama's future bride. And please, he'll do anything in front of Hiashi-sama to make everything harder for Neji-sama."

"Why me?" Tenten asked, more to herself. She was feeling pathetically self-conscious that she was going to be with Hyuuga Neji for the rest of her life, and this fact somehow had managed to weirdly make her excited. It was strange, but she kind of like the feeling that she will be wed to Neji.

She mentally cursed herself and checked on her reflection once again. Tsuki stood up as they heard a knock on the door. "That must be Neji-sama." She said and she slid the door open. She was right; Neji was standing there, wearing a formal navy blue kimono.

Tenten nearly choked. She can't stop herself from noticing how charming (and cute!) Neji looked in his kimono, and she turned away to hide her admiring face.

He smirked, and Tsuki nodded as if she understood what his smirk meant. She touched Tenten's shoulder, motioning her to go, and the weapon kunoichi took a deep breath before turning to face Neji.

"Then I'll be leaving." Tsuki said quietly, getting out of the room to give the somewhat un-romantic couple privacy for a few seconds.

"Hey." Tenten greeted awkwardly. "You... look good."

Neji nodded and gave her a smile. "Let's go." He said, definitely blind that in common courtesy, he should have said thank you or even give a compliment back to Tenten. But then, this was Hyuuga Neji we're talking about.

Tenten shrugged off, understanding in her heart that Neji's faint and cold attitude was not something that should bother her. She slid the door close and quietly made her way following Neji. They arrived in front of the Hyuuga main house, where Hinata was waiting for them.

"Oh, Tenten-chan!" The Hyuuga girl said shyly, "Welcome! Father's waiting for you."

"Hinata-sama." Neji nodded politely, "Is Maiko inside?"

"Are you looking for me, _rival_?" A very proud self-centered voice came from behind Tenten, whirling the girl around to take a good look of the owner.

He was around Neji's age, but he was sure very emotional and expressive for a Hyuuga (Hinata, however, was always an exception). He too had the same white eyes all Hyuugas resembled, and he was taller one or two inch from Tenten, which made him definitely shorter than Neji.

Behind him was a girl, which to Tenten's information, should be namely Chouko Shizuka. She was not bad of a girl either. Beautiful, gorgeous, sexy. Tenten bit her lip, suddenly feeling nervous all of a sudden. When a Maiko could get someone as perfect as Shizuka, why should Neji chose someone like her?

_Pull yourself together,_ _Tenten,_ she told herself mentally, _it's not you who decide, remember?_

"Maiko." Neji acknowledged him.

"Rival." Maiko said happily.

_Too happy_, Tenten thought in disgust, although she couldn't wait to see how Neji will react to this too-happy guy's acknowledgement.

As she thought, Neji turned away and chose to ignore Maiko's word. Instead, he gestured to Hinata that everything was fine, and the timid girl quietly opened the door to let them all in. She led them into the dining hall, which was huge compared to the one they had in the Branch House. Then again, discrimination was here and there in this clan.

"Welcome." Hiashi said, Hanabi tugging his sleeve behind him. She had practically grown into one cheeky teenager since the last time Tenten saw her. But then again, that was several years ago. "Now, I consider now you all have known each other-"

"Not yet." Maiko cut him out. "I still don't know who is that girl over there." He said, pointing at Tenten and the weapon kunoichi flinched uneasily, "Since Neji didn't bother to introduce her to me."

_Blaming Neji, aren't you?_ Tenten thought again, not liking a bit of this boy. He was deadly annoying, and if she were given an opportunity, she would be more than happy to use him as a target for her deadly weapons. She turned to glance at Neji, and as she thought, his expression was as stiff as usual.

"Let me introduce my future wife first." Maiko said cheerfully, slipping an arm around Shizuka's neck warmly. The girl smiled confidently at Tenten and Neji. "This is Shizuka, my last girl friend for life. She specialized in medic studies, _like all girls need to_, and she came from the Chouko clan."

_Medic, medic, medic_. Tenten thought, disliking the boy more and more over time, _what do you make me? A boy?_

Another silence.

Tenten glanced at Neji again, and she was very sure that he was not going to open his mouth. A genius he might be, but Neji was hell stubborn.

"Now, Neji, aren't you going to introduce me your... girlfriend?" Maiko asked again, twitching his eyes sneakily. "Or are you just going to let me stand here, dumb cold and not introduce me to that weak-looking girl you have right there?"

Tenten's eyes snapped open. She did not appreciate it one bit when people addressed her as a weakling. "I can introduce myself, thank you very much." She said stiffly to Maiko. "I am not the kind of girl who shuts up and let the boys do the talking, Maiko-san."

Maiko sniffed impolitely, and unfortunately for him, it enraged Tenten more. "My name is Tenten." She said coldly, "I specialize in weapons, _not like other girls_, but I like it very much." Her eyes glared daggers at Maiko, who was looking a little taken aback by such cold introduction, "And, Maiko-san, I apologize for telling you this, but I hate people who calls me weak."

Maiko arched his eyebrows. "Weapons, eh?" He said mockingly. "I thought Neji was not the type looking for girls who love pointy, shiny things rather than girls who heal people."

"Neji is not hurt." Tenten cut him out dangerously, "He does not need a medic."

Neji smirked, and came to the rescue. "... She's right." He said casually. "I am not hurt. What I need more is a sparring partner than a medic, and Tenten gives me the best of her at times."

That was the closest to a compliment you can get from the lips of Hyuuga Neji, but nonetheless Tenten was satisfied. She gave him a faint smile that meant 'Thank you', and the Hyuuga prodigy smirked.

"Let's just have this settled for now, and have our dinner first." Hiashi said, taking the four out of some awkward but fiery situation. He gestured them to sit, and after they did, rich-looking dishes were served. Tenten's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. She had heard that the main families of Hyuuga were richer than the branch, but she did not think that they would spend so much money on just a dinner.

She eyed Hinata, who was sitting beside her. Hinata gave her a faint smile, and Tenten glanced to Neji, who was sitting on her right. She shrugged. They all looked very used to all of these expensive dishes, so why didn't she try and enjoy it too?

After dinner, deserts were served. And at this time too, Hiashi chose to give an announcement. He glanced at the future brides, who looked very young compared to him right now. "Hinata and Hanabi," He said to his daughters, "Would you mind taking Neji and Maiko outside first?"

Hinata nodded shyly as she stood up, putting down her plate. "Please come here, Neji-niisan and Maiko-niisan." She said, holding up her hand to the door. She led them outside, Hanabi following, leaving Tenten, Shizuka, and Hiashi to be the only ones inside.

"Now, my girls." Hiashi said softly, "Since I assume you all are clever girls, I will speak right to the point here. Is that all right?"

Shizuka nodded, and Tenten shrugged.

"Well then, I'll just give up the points here." Hiashi continued, "As you may already know, Hyuuga clan is one of the oldest clan here in Konoha. Given the bloodline limits, it's no secret that Hyuuga clan gives the best descendants since a long, long time ago."

"Descendants?" Tenten can't stop herself asking, "As in babies?"

Shizuka rolled her eyes. "I thought it was obvious." She said elegantly.

Tenten glared at her, and she replied an evil grin for return.

"Yes. Babies. Now, in order to have good babies..." Hiashi breathed, still maintaining his calm composure, "What is needed is just one thing: good parents." He turned to glance at them, "That is why the women who are to be wed to Hyuuga boys are chose very carefully within their own range. To make sure that the future descendants are in good hands, there is one thing needed. Good women."

_Good women_.

The word echoed in Tenten's mind as she shifted uneasily at her seat. Was she a good woman? She did not come from any prestigious clan as Shizuka might did... She also didn't live up those rich traditions... Was she good enough?

"You all have received special trainings in your time being a Hyuuga bride. In your case, Tenten, it's only a week." Hiashi gave a faint laugh, "In usual cases, like Shizuka's, the training lasts for a year."

A year? Tenten's eyes widened in horror. She glanced at Shizuka, who looked shy being mentioned by Hiashi.

"I can see that you are surprised by this, Tenten." Hiashi continued quickly, "But only in your case did we use a week for a Hyuuga bride training. This is because Neji had asked me to fastened the process, so that you just need to learn what is needed to be known."

"Neji did?" Tenten asked, and Hiashi nodded. "He did care for you, that's all I see." The Hyuuga clan leader said, but quickly resumed the topic back to the 'Good women'. "Now, it's around the time to see that if your training gets the best out of you or not. Within five days or so, a test will be held. If you pass the test, you are qualified to be a Hyuuga bride. If you fail, that means you are not qualified, and you are to be gone from this house - forever."

A test.

"You may fail, you may pass." Hiashi said quickly, "Your training is just a helper in this test, you will not need all knowledge from it."

"The test... What kind of test it might be?" Shizuka asked, looking uneasy but still confident at the same time.

"It will have three parts." The clan leader held out three fingers. "First, written test on all rules that exist in the Hyuuga. Second, cooking, flower arranging, and Japanese tea ceremony tests all together, and the last one will be a sparring match between you two."

Tenten's eyes lightened up that right second. A sparring match! She will be so happy when that time comes. That was the only test category she really could succeed greatly. That was, if Shizuka was bad at spar matches.

Whatever she was like, she will have to train. With Neji. That will be ever so okay - she was used to it more than she was used to breathing oxygen! But then again, she never won, and she knew it from her heart that she never will.

"A sparring match." Shizuka repeated. "But I am a medic ninja, Hiashi-sama. I am not well trained to fight."

"Then you would have to train with Maiko for the rest of your time, Shizuka." Hiashi said firmly. "Test rules are not to be change, you know that."

"Yes, Hiashi-sama."

"So then, is everything clear?"

"Yes."

"You may leave."

"Good night, Hiashi-sama." Tenten stood up, gave a small curtsy and walked outside, hoping to find Neji. Shizuka was following behind her. Thankfully, Neji and Maiko were still there. With Hinata and Hanabi. Only the two girls looked a bit terrified, while Maiko was bruised here and there, and Neji was standing quietly, perfectly clean and calm.

"Maiko!" Shizuka said, surprised. She leaned down and helped him to stand up. The boy looked at Neji mockingly. "Ha! I know you're better than me, but Shizuka will not lose to you on the test! She is very well-trained, and she comes from a rich family, not a lowborn like your fiancée!"

Tenten's eyes flashed dangerously. "You just called me a lowborn, I gather, eh?" She asked, leaning to Maiko closely as she hideously readied her needles under her finger. "But what should I call you if you are to be hurt by a lowborn?" She scratched her needles to his arm, drawing blood that Shizuka shrieked.

"Shit." Maiko cursed. "Shizuka, handle this." He said to his girl, and he turned towards Tenten again. "That's why I call you a lowborn." He hissed, "You are sneaky enough. You only want money from Hyuuga clan, and tell you what - you pick the wrong boy! Neji will never ever give you anything you want, since he's just a cold-hearted person who didn't feel!"

Sadly, he enraged Tenten more by this. "No one..." She hissed as she flung her almost unnoticeable shurikens at him, making a space between Maiko and Shizuka. "... Judges me when they don't know me."

"Really? Then fight me."

"No." Tenten said in denial. "I don't want to. Why waste time, anyway?"

"A coward." Maiko cursed again.

"Maybe I am. But I am not a weakling." She said, readying needles once more. "You may be a high born, Maiko-san, but I am not as weak as you think I am."

"Try me." He said, getting into some battle stance.

_This guy was no Hyuuga Neji_, Tenten assured herself, _Neji was far stronger. You could deal easily with him. _

"Don't regret it." Tenten said quietly. Maiko gave her a mocking smirk and a nod. She smiled in satisfaction as she flung her needles, this time really unnoticeable. The needles flew fast - to Shizuka - and flung her backwards, pinning her to the tree behind her perfectly. Maiko gasped.

"You didn't see that coming, did you?" Tenten asked triumphantly. She could practically felt Neji smirking behind her, and she knew that she loved the way he smirked. It was... annoyingly cute. Irresistible. She groaned and slapped herself mentally. It was not the time to be thinking about that.

She eyed Shizuka, whose cheeks were bleeding badly right now. "Oops." She gasped, faking a guilty tone, "Apparently I have missed what I have aimed."

"You are so going to lose for this." Maiko said, standing as he picked Shizuka up bridal-style. "Shizuka's not just a normal girl, you know."

"No. I don't know." She smirked just the way Neji had unconsciously taught her to, "But mind you, I am also not just a normal girl. If you want me to fail..." She paused for a second, choosing her words, "Then I will fail. But I will not fail the test, I will fail to fail the test."

She only befuddled poor Maiko more with her words. She grinned in satisfaction. "That is a promise." She said. "I keep my own promises."

"I keep your word for it." The guy said as he brought Shizuka away.

Tenten grinned again and turned back, half-expecting Neji to be mad at her for making Maiko's bride hurt, but instead what she found was a silently laughing Neji.

He stopped just as soon as he noticed Tenten was staring at him.

"You're laughing." She stated.

He smirked, just if she was stating the obvious.

"You're laughing." She repeated, and this time her eyes widened in shock. "Oh, my! I should tell Lee that I won the bet! You just laughed, didn't you? Lee's so going to pay me a dinner of sesame dumplings!"

"What bet?" Neji asked, and Tenten laughed at him. "Nothing." She chorused, pasting an innocent smile on her lips. "Nothing, Neji. Don't mind it."

"What bet?" He repeated again, and she knew he was not going to let her get away without explaining things to him. The deal with Hyuuga Neji was also this: he didn't explain, but he wants you to explain. And you will have no choice other than explaining.

"Well... Lee said you couldn't laugh." Tenten said awkwardly, slowly moving away from him, "And I said you could. We made a bet... and I win!"

"You made me as a bet?"

"... Err... Yeah." Tenten nodded. "Well, I'm sorry!" She rolled her eyes, "It was really, really early! It was practically already ten years since I made the bet! It was way different back then, I was not feeling anything to you! But now..." She stopped, and blushed hotly, realizing that she had chosen the wrong words.

"But now?" He requested.

"Nothing." She said, evading his question. "Well, Neji! Look at the time. I gotta go. I need my _beauty_ sleep!" She walked away from him, backwards. "Sparring tomorrow?" She asked hopefully as she stopped. She needed one last spar before the test, and she knew that Neji would give her that if she needed it.

"No."

A denial for a spar match? Wow, that was new! "W-what?" Tenten gasped, not believing that this was Neji she was talking with. Neji spar matches every time he could!

"There's no need to repeat what I said."

"But why no?" She asked curiously. "You never rejected an invitation for a spar match at usual times."

"That was usual times." He pointed out. "But tomorrow you will be having a flower arranging session. No free periods."

"But I need to spar match with you one last time!" She practically wailed, unable to understand why she was having this bad luck.

"... Fine." He nodded. "But not tomorrow."

"When, then?" She asked, hopefully.

"The day after the day after tomorrow."

She mulled the words in her mind. Sure, it was simple words, but nonetheless the words succeeded to make her confused. Really, how can such simple words befuddle people sometimes? "Okay." She agreed after understanding the phrase correctly. "Thanks, Neji."

He nodded.

She waved her hands as she started to walk backwards again. This time, she fell flat on the ground. Neji sighed and moved closer to her. He leaned down. She gave him a shy smile, but to cover it up quickly, she said, "Now are you going to help me up or no?"

"No."

Just as she thought, the answer was a denial. She shrugged. She could stand up by herself, anyway. She stood up, glaring at him, and waved her hand once more.

"Tenten."

His sudden call made her heart throbbed faster and her face redder. She turned around. "Yes?" She asked, half-expecting something romantic, but deep down her heart she knew that it was practically impossible for Neji to say something romantic.

"Don't walk backwards." He said quietly. "Goodnight."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Neji." She waved her hand again, "Goodnight."

--

This is a re-written version. I have written one yesterday, but I'm really not satisfied with it… so, this is the one that satisfies me. And this too, does not satisfy me that much! Oh, I'm so hard to please!

Anyway, reviews please! ... And tell me what's wrong... (pleads)

Thanks!


	5. Part 5

**Disclaimer: Naruto's not mine and never will be mine.**

--

**Part Five: Mistletoes**

--

Tenten blinked as she tied her obi tightly on her waist. Even on usual days, 'Hyuuga brides' were expected to use kimonos, although they should not be a formal one. In Tenten case, this rule was hellish.

She yawned and tied her hair up on two buns quickly. After all, she was used to it. She glanced to her schedule on the wall. Neji had not call her to inform about the 'day off' he promised yesterday. (Or he didn't promise. Whatever it was, she was sure that Hyuuga Neji never takes back his words. It would make him lose his pride heavily).

Today she was having flower-arranging sessions with someone outside the Hyuuga. She was relieved, and a bit excited too. She had been seeing all white-eyed people for a complete week, and she was getting a little fed up with it.

She heard a knock and a call from the door. "Tenten-san, please be quick. Yamanaka-san has been waiting for you for a complete five minutes!" Without even seeing the figure, she knew that it was Tsuki-sensei. Her voice was impatient and always, always demanding her.

Tenten's eyes twitched. Yamanaka-san, she said. It can be someone from Ino's flower shop. She slid the door open and Tsuki led her into her training hall, where she usually spends her day studying, learning - all that jazz to be Neji's bride.

Really, she didn't even care too much about him. This was just some stupid favor that he had forced her to do... _Right, favor_.

"Tenten!" She heard a familiar voice when she entered the hall, and she was really surprised (yet happy) to see the one and only Yamanaka Ino inside. "Ino!" she greeted her best friend back, which gave her a big and warm bear hug in return.

"What are you doing here?" Tenten asked.

Ino grinned happily as she settled down on her chair once more. "Of course I'm here for you!" She said energetically, which made Tenten thinking that she ought to be paired up with the also energetic Lee, not that lazy Shikamaru.

"I see you both know each other." Tsuki interrupted, frowning. She glanced sideways at Tenten, "Should I call for another member of the Yamanaka flower shop, Tenten-san? Or is this alright?"

"This is terrific! Excellent!" Tenten clapped in glee. "Thanks for inviting Ino here, Tsuki-sensei! You don't know how much I appreciate it!"

"Really." Tsuki said sarcastically. "Can I trust you for this, Tenten-san? You know the test will come soon."

Ah yes, the test. She had told Tsuki about it yesterday night and she had frowned deeply, telling her to be as serious as she can be in the mean time. If not, there was a big chance she will fail. After all, her rival was a girl from a prestigious clan. At that time, Tenten only frowned back and commented on how discrimination was going very well in this clan.

"I'll do my best." Ino said, "I won't disappoint Tenten and you, Tsuki-san."

"Then I guess I have to trust you on this." Tsuki said, nodding her head even though she did not look so satisfied. She then nodded politely, "I'll leave both of you to get the lessons on, Ino-san." She left without further ado, leaving Tenten and Ino squealing happily.

"Gosh, I missed you!" Ino said, "You disappeared for a complete week, and the next thing I know you're engaged to Neji! How did you come to that, Tenten? Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's not like I have an opportunity." Tenten waved her hand in dismissal. "Neji sent his people to my house one hour after the propo-_no_, agreement, and I was carried here. I don't even have time to explain what is happening to my parents!"

"But I see that they are very happy." Ino commented, "Yesterday I saw them buying kimonos to send over here, Tenten."

So that is why I have so many kimonos here, Tenten thought. She shrugged and giggled. "What had I miss? Anything new outside?" She asked, crossing her feet happily. She had missed her friends; even seeing Hinata was so hard between the busy days of training to be a good woman. It was such a great surprise that Ino came -even though seeing her was not the ultimate goal, but whatever.

"Nothing." Ino grunted. "Things seem to be moving so slow since you're away. Really!" She held up her basket of flowers and get out some books. "Let's get moving, shall we?" She saw the frown on Tenten's face and quickly added, "I want you to be the best Hyuuga bride ever, Tenten. After all, you're marrying a prodigy! That makes you have to upgrade your knowledge so that you can speak with him, right? Or you'll lose topics to talk about!"

"Talking to Neji is not hard." Tenten said, protesting. "It's like how you talk to Shikamaru. Really easy, right? There's always something to talk about." She rolled her eyes; "I know I'm not half as clever as he is!"

"No, no, no. That's not what I mean!" Ino argued, "I just want you to be the best girl here. Well, excluding Hinata, of course." She rolled her eyes too. "No more arguments, Tenten." She grinned. "I'll be teaching at the primary school next week, and you are my first student!"

"You're teaching?" Tenten asked, surprised. Ino had not brought that up. Her best friend nodded happily. "I was just trying a new carrier. It was a part-time job..." She stopped, "But hey, it's not the time to be talking about me. It's you we need to get on to!"

"... Right." Tenten groaned as she watched Ino getting out some flowers and containers. The flower girl grinned. "Don't put such bad face, Tenten. The flowers will lose their happiness too!"

Tenten stared at her. She was, in fact, a little similar to Lee. Both were crazy about something. Well, maybe not crazy, they're just... sort of... Well, whatever.

"Japanese flower arrangement is based on three main things that they emphasize." Ino held up three finger as she shook Tenten's shoulder. The weapon kunoichi groaned a little and started to listen. She continued, "The factors are points that symbolize the heaven, the earth, and humankind. But what we will be doing soon is western flower arrangement."

"Why?" Tenten could not stop herself from asking.

Ino shrugged. "They asked for it." She said, as if it was ever so obvious.

"Who?"

"Your future family." Ino shrugged again. "Well, that's better. Japanese flower arrangement is a bit more complicated because we emphasizes on the straight aspects of the arrangement, while western ones emphasize on the most beautiful part of the flowers, which are usually the blossoms."

Tenten nodded as she began to concentrate on the pictures in front of her. It was big pictures of flowers, and even if she was not feminine, she knew and realized that flowers were beautiful.

"There are six main styles of how flowers are arranged." Ino said, quickly pointing to the pictures. "Domed, spiky, floating, free-form, single and grouped. Most are self-explanatories, anyway. You do understand, ne, Tenten?"

She shook her head no.

Ino grinned again. "I guess you don't." She remarked, looking thoughtful. "Well, to make it simpler... Domed is a round flower arrangement, spiky is an arrangement of different lengths of flowers, floating is to put some full-blossomed flower on top of the surface of the water. Free-form is a very casual one, but still beautiful. You start with the largest flowers first, and then finish up with some green leaves on the outside. Single and grouped... You know, right?"

The weapon kunoichi groaned. "Am I expected to memorize all those?" She wailed unhappily. "I won't get it until next year!"

"No." Ino replied as she smiled cheerfully, tapping Tenten's shoulder to comfort her. "I'm just explaining it to you so that you will know the basics. But yeah, that's not really important."

"Then get to the point!" Tenten said, really unhappy right now. She groaned. "I'm terribly sorry, Ino. I know I'm being a total ass. I'm just... fed up with all this. It's not like I love him to do this for him!" She snapped the table, "Why don't I just reject his proposal that time?"

"What.. do you mean?" Ino asked in confusion, "You don't love Neji?" Her confused face turned into a very cheeky grin. "At all?"

Tenten groaned. "Let's not talk about that."

"Hee... you love him, ne?"

"Ino, please!"

She grinned. "Fine. I'll pester you later." She waved her hand and started getting out some flowers. "Really, I don't like to talk about nonsense."

_You already did_, Tenten thought bitterly as she bolted her body upright.

"So let us get into the arranging." Ino said. "All you need are just a container, some flowers of any type, and water to keep them fresh." She waved the container she held. It was just a simple crystal bowl that looked like a fish aquarium. Fill this with water-" She filled the container with water from a jug of water and gazed at Tenten, who was looking real bored but still concentrating by now. "... Really. You better do it yourself so you will not doze off!"

Tenten sighed as she took over. She glanced at the bowl. "Now what should I do?"

"Start putting these in." Ino handed her some ferns. "I've already cut these to the length that will fit this bowl, but next time you will have to this yourself." Tenten began randomly putting them in, looking a bit more alive now. She then glanced again at Ino, which now had some roses with stems on her hand. "Here, start drawing them in... not randomly, Tenten. With creativity. As you want it to be."

"... Okay, whatever." Tenten shrugged as she examined the flowers. "Why roses, Ino?"

"Because..." She breathed dramatically and flashed her eyelashes with faked sexiness. "In flower language, rose means love. So do evening primroses, honeysuckles, white and red chrysanthemums, and some more. I can't remember them all, but they are the ones I like so much! You should try giving Neji something, Tenten. To symbolize your love for him."

"I do NOT love him, Ino." Tenten glared at her best friend, "You are trying to make me admit something that is not even true. Right," She rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "I could try giving him something." She glanced at the book which Ino had flipped to a page with flowers meanings very quickly, afraid that Ino would look at her and will reveal whatever she thought.

_Hey, I really could give him something, something that means 'beware'. He really should_ _beware; I may kill him one day_, Tenten thought as she glanced again at the page.

_M_… _means beware that a foe is around. _

"Do you have any mistletoes in store, Ino? I want it."

"Mistletoes?" Ino's eyes widened, "But those mean..." She stopped herself and shrugged. Really, if Tenten wants to give something to someone, it's clearly none of her business. She had stopped getting so nosy into other people's businesses, and that made them like her more. "I have got one here just for you." She said, getting out what she wanted and handed it over to Tenten.

Tenten grinned happily. _You just wait, Neji_, she thought as she placed the mistletoe carefully on the table and returned back to Ino.

--

Neji stared at Tenten questioningly. _What the hell_, he thought as she shoved a mistletoe to his face.

"Wha-?" He asked her, but she was already gone.

He smirked. The flower arranging sessions must have bloomed her to heaven, he thought as he smirked to himself once more and returned to his room. He put the mistletoe down on his desk and started looking for books to read. It was a habit of his - to read before midnight comes.

A certain book caught his attention - it was a dictionary of flower language. He flipped open to a page containing the meaning of the mistletoe and started to read it carefully.

_Mistletoe: kiss me._

His eyes widened a little and his seriousness turned into a cheesy smile.

_Just you wait, Tenten._

Then again, he was _the _Hyuuga Neji.

--

**End Notes**

About all those flower information up there, I'm using a website. Credits goes to the website! And I wasn't hoping too much too, because this was a short chapter. Then again, it was my best work right now. Homeworks are killing me, and I'm not describing things well for this chapter. And the next too, looks like it.

For those of you who did NOT understand my last chapter, here's a clue - misunderstanding.

Still, reviews are welcomed!


	6. Part 6

**Disclaimer: Naruto? It's not mine. Really.**

--

**Notes**

(cries) Oh, I'm so glad you like chapt. 5! Thank you for the reviews! They enlightened my mood!

--

**Day Four: Tea Ceremony**

**By MyFallenAngel**

--

"So why are you here again?" Tenten asked, furrowing her eyebrows. She thought she had given him a sign to beware yesterday, and yet he was here, looking very happy - _No_, Hyuuga Neji was always emotionless, but she could almost swear that Neji looked unusually happy. Or weirdly happy. Any of them will do.

"Neji-sama will be teaching you, Tenten-san." Tsuki jumped in to the rescue, breaking the almost uncomfortable silence between the future's wed couples.

"Teaching me?" Tenten repeated. "Teaching me what?" Her eyes glanced awkwardly sideways at Neji, which he returned with a blank look on his face.

"About the Hyuuga tea ceremony." Tsuki said with satisfaction. She was feeling very happy and free, because she was getting a day off today. "We need a certain Hyuuga to teach you that, and I am not the Hyuuga who could."

Tenten almost groaned, but she kept silent as Tsuki went out of the room. She glanced again at Neji, watching. Any change of his expression will force her to run away. He had to be angry that she gave him a sign to beware!

It was her who should beware, really.

"... Let's start, then." He said, settling down. Tenten let out a gasp of relief as she sat across of him, keeping herself fully aware. Neji could attack anyone without making sounds. He took out the equipments required for a tea ceremony - a normal one, in this case.

Tenten eyed the equipments, rather curiously. They were nearly no different than the ones used in the usual Japanese tea ceremonies. She then eyed Neji, still curiously. This must be Neji's first experience in teaching, really.

If this really was, then it should be interesting.

He then took a book from the shelves leaning against the wall and placed it on Tenten's lap, which she eyed eerily again. _The Hyuuga Ceremonies_, it reads. Neji stood up. "Page 153." He told her. "Read it."

Tenten flipped the book open as instructed. Page 153 was a page about the Hyuuga tea ceremony, and she had no interest whatsoever in the book. She gazed at Neji, who stared back at her again.

"Memorize it and you'll know." He smirked, slid opened the door and disappeared behind it.

Tenten stared at the closed door, expecting Neji to come out from it again. But when he didn't, she stared again, now into empty space. What did he said? Memorize it? Memorize what? She gazed down at the book. _This?_ Just saying that and leaving her like that?

_Wow. Somekind of a teacher he was!_

She smirked to herself.

_Beware_, she had said. Yeah, he really should beware.

--

She slammed the book closed and aimed it at the shelves. She threw it cleverly, and it was put right in the position she was before. It had already been thirty minutes after she started reading, and really. Hyuuga tea ceremony was not something that will interest people. Any people.

And what's the use of reading about how chakin, fukusa, tana, chashaku, chasen, and other tea ceremony equipments are used differently in the Hyuugas tradition, anyway?

She groaned as she stood up and get out of the room, hoping to breathe some air. Instead, she slammed herself into somebody she definitely not want to see right now.

"Hyuuga Neji." She stated, more like an obvious fact. It was obvious, anyway.

He smirked at her, "As I thought."

"What?" Tenten arched her eyebrows demandingly, "You thought?"

He shrugged, as it was no big deal. "You're not going anywhere until you know how to use the tea ceremony equipments are used differently in the Hyuuga tea ceremony, Tenten." He reminded, "So don't try anything dangerous. You really have to understand them."

"Why?" She asked with faked angriness, even though she knew it wouldn't affect the Neji.

His eyes were blank, as usual. But to Tenten, those white eyes where asking sarcastically, "Why should I explain this to you?"

She whirled closer at him. "I said beware, Hyuuga Neji."

"What?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Beware." Tenten repeated quickly. "You are so dead."

"As you see, I'm not."

She groaned grumpily. "... Fine." She jabbed her index finger at his chest. "You owe me a day off, Hyuuga Neji. You really do_. Or else_."

"It was I who ought to say that." He smirked as he stepped closer to her, ignoring her finger. "I don't owe you anything."

She rolled her eyes but then softened. "Please? You know about the test. You have to help me prepare for it. A spar match." She had puppy eyes with her, and Neji gave her a blank stare. Then again, he was never really expressive. She continued, "You know I have to win this match, even though it was just a spar."

He shrugged. "I have told you. Tomorrow."

She glared at him. "That's when I will have my day-off, right? I want to shop!"

"Shop?" He asked. "What shop?" He knew from his heart that she hardly ever shops.

"I want to buy more weapons." She shrugged. "Well, I need to sharpen mine before the spar match is on, anyway. Can you accompany me shop and spar match too?" She asked, pasting puppy-eyes on her eyes and a hopeful smile on her lips.

"Hn. Okay." He agreed.

"Thanks, Neji!" She grinned at him, satisfied. That was almost easy.

"On one condition." He added, making her light eyes darkened again. She eyed him curiously, "And what is that?" She asked suspiciously. Neji was never bad at making deals - he was sometimes even perfect at making them. The benefits will go to him, and she will suffer.

He gave her a smirk. "Memorize the book. Page 153."

She sighed heavily and gave him a smirk too in return. "Fine. It's a deal." She said, although unwillingly. But then again, Neji had agreed to spar match her and accompany her tomorrow. That was what's important. She returned back to the room, now her heart light and her burden lifted.

Tenten took the book and opened it to page 153 again, determined to memorize whatever was written there. After all, she was required too. It won't hurt to remember all those words, especially when they would help you on the test.

She groaned as soon as her mind dawned on the test. _Right, the test_. She should study anything that she could remember to pass it.

She had two deals right now, and none of them was giving benefits to her.

Then again, she was no Hyuuga Neji.

She wasn't as good at making deals.

--

"Chashaku. Used to scoop tea from the caddy and to the tea bowl." She slapped herself mentally as she read it out loud. "Memorize, head! Memorize." She glared at the book, hoping that glaring will help her remember. "Chasen is tea whisk made from a single piece of bamboo."

The door slid open just when she started to remember about chashaku and chasen. _Really, why are the words so hard to remember?_ She groaned, slapped herself mentally once more and turned to the stranger at the door.

Well. Not necessarily stranger.

It was her teacher. Her male teacher who happened to also be her fiancée.

"Neji." She said flatly. "What are you doing here?"

He put a parcel down on her lap and turned away as she noticed that he was blushing a very little tint of very light pink. Hyuuga Neji. Blushing. Her eyes widened. "Neji, what happened?" She asked critically. "You are blushing, aren't you?"

"..." He silenced and turned to her again. "Unwrap it."

Tenten's gaze shifted to the parcel on her lap. "Oh." She said uneasily and began to unwrap it. Inside was a sharpening knife, ready to use. Her eyes widened in happiness at once. "For me?" She asked in disbelief. Imagine Neji buying things for her!

He nodded silently and shrugged. "I don't quite know which model you want."

"This is perfect!" She said, clearly beaming with happiness. She practically leaned in and tackled him into a big, warm bear hug. "Thank you! Thanks, thanks, thanks! I'll do anything!"

"You've done enough." He told her silently.

Her eyes widened again. "What happened?" She asked as she took out a shuriken and began sharpening it carefully but quickly. She was, after all, the weapons mistress.

"Nothing." He said sternly. "Have you study?"

"Oh. Right!" Tenten groaned again. "I'm supposed to study!" She smirked and closed the book. "I have, Neji. But this is not easy."

He smirked, as to say, "It's dead easy."

Tenten frowned. "It's easy for you. You're a Hyuuga, this tradition is born with you. I am not." She sighed, "Why am I telling you this?"

He smirked and stood up. "Hiashi-sama said that you may have a day off tomorrow."

Her eyes lightened up at once. "Really?" She asked happily as she stood up next to him again, fingers wrapped tightly around his arms. "You mean it? You really do?"

Neji nodded.

"Thanks!" She said, now practically tackling him into another bear hug. Outside at last! Freedom! She smiled and gave him a peace sign with her fingers. "I'll do the best I can in the test, Neji."

He smirked. "Make sure you do."

She smiled reassuringly. "I will." She whispered, more to herself. She will not let Shizuka gets all the attention. True, she was a girl from such a high-class clan. But Tenten herself wasn't that lowborn. Her parents were way popular back then in her old village. Moving to Konoha did them good, but their reputations were taken down some notches. Nonetheless, they were grateful to move here.

Tenten turned to Neji. "Thank you, Neji. I really mean it."

_I think I know what freedom means to you_, Neji thought as he shrugged. "... Don't mention it." He said awkwardly. He then slid the door and disappeared behind it again, leaving Tenten and The Evil Book.

She smiled happily as she returned to the book, now fully concentrating.

If only she knows, she's the one who should beware.

Really.

--

Tenten sat on her futon, groaning lowly so that nobody will hear her. She couldn't sleep. And tomorrow was her spar match with Neji for the first time in long. She had to sleep, or tomorrow she will be dead exhausted. Neji was always especially harsh when it comes to training, and no matter who was she; he will force her to do her best.

Yet now the clock shown 1.23 AM, and her eyes wouldn't close even a second.

She rolled to her side, trying to empty her mind out of the stupid thoughts that always pops up whenever she's going to sleep. Yes, the stupid thoughts about Hyuuga Neji. He had appeared in her mind for a week already, and she couldn't resist.

Even thinking of him now seems irresistible.

She groaned and placed her hands on her cheeks. "Sleep, head." She said to herself, "If not, he's gonna freak out. No, he will never freak out. You will freak out because of the training he will give you tomorrow. Sleep, head."

Tenten closed her eyes tightly as another thoughts came to her head. When she was first brought here to be Neji's bride, she had known from her heart that it would be very hard. It was not easy, she had heard, to be brides of such prestigious clans. She had done this also as a favor for him, but now that things started to go a bit wild (in her thinking), she was not really sure.

Was it only a favor, or did her heart want to do this?

Lee could help her, she knew he could. After all these years, Lee was one person that understands her the most, besides Neji. Tenten tossed on her bed again.

_I really need to go to sleep_, she thought, ordering herself, _or else._

She shut her eyes and started to doze off, even though uncomfortably, without noticing that someone passed through her bedroom door and left something in front of it, not making any single sound.

--

**Notes**

Another short chapter. I really have problems with writing full length ones. I'm busy catching up with my school, so… expect longer updates than usual!

Thanks!

I'll wait for reviews, okay? (Wink!)


	7. Part 7

**Disclaimer: Naruto is Kishimoto's. **

--

Day Five: Babies 

--

Tenten's eyes widened when she opened her bedroom door sleepily. Last night she managed to get some sleep, even though really uncomfortable. She blinked, checking if her eyesight was right or not. There was something on her feet - a pot of mistletoes, a book, and a gift card slipped in it.

She lifted it up carefully; aware that any kind of trap may be connected with the pot, but as she examined it, she realized that it was nothing but a very pot of plants. Just that. She eyed the gift card and entered her bedroom once more, closing the door behind her.

She placed the pot and the book on her desk and sat on the sofa as she opened the envelope. She sniffed it, making sure that there was no poison whatsoever pasted on it. Tenten eyed it one last time and checked the card once more. It was a simple decorated card with a 'Thank You' written on it.

_Thank you?_ She blinked. Who was thankful to her, really? And who was kind (and cute) enough to give her something very sweet like this?

She opened the card, but nothing was written inside.

Tenten placed the card down on her desk and scanned the mistletoes carefully. Speaking about mistletoes, she gave one to Neji a few days ago. She groaned as she remembered the meaning of mistletoe inside the book Ino brought days ago. Mistletoe. It was something about bewaring and that someone deadly was closed to you.

She shrugged and turned her attention to the book. After she unwrapped it, she realized that it was a book of flowers meanings. She flipped it to a page with mistletoes on it and looked down to read the definition clearly.

_Mistletoe: kiss me._

Her eyes widened. "K-kiss me?" She stuttered out loud. "What?"

A knock on the door returned her full attention to reality. She backed out from the book, dropping it on the floor, looking very shock as she met eyes with the one and only Hyuuga Neji, leaning on her door, smirking with his most charming smirks.

"I didn't mean to!" She wailed. "I thought..."

He smirked again and gave her an 'I-don't care' look.

"I really didn't, Neji!" She frowned as she waved her hand, trying to hide her flushing face. "I was meaning to give you..." She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to remember why she was thinking mistletoe when it should be something else. "... A sign." She finished uneasily.

Neji cocked his eyebrows, still looking very charming. "A sign?"

"No! No, it was nothing!" Now that she thought of it, it was way better if he didn't know. But then, this was Hyuuga Neji. And he had said that dealing with him had its own consequences. If her consequence is death, then she had no way to resist it.

"A sign?" He repeated.

Tenten gave him her best smile, hoping he would fall for it. "No, no, Neji. I was just dreaming." She waved her hand to dismiss (hopefully) the subject away, and thankfully she succeeded this time. He smirked, "Are you ready?"

_Ready for what?_ Tenten opened her mouth to ask, but she remembered that it was her day off. Well, even though she should and would spend it with Hyuuga Neji. She shrugged it off, telling herself that she could think of the day as a practice. She would be living in hell with Hyuuga Neji, for the rest of her life.

"Yes." She replied instead.

"Come on." He said quickly, walking away from her room. She sighed silently, reminding herself mentally that this was Hyuuga Neji, and he will never change. He will be her husband, and she will just have to deal with it, because Neji wouldn't be bugged about it. It was, anyway, his attitude.

"Yes." She replied again, following him from his back.

--

The marketplace seemed to be a whole new world in Tenten's view. Everything seems new and growing, and somehow changing in her eyes. She gazed around the marketplace, breathing the air of 'freedom'. Yes, she may be exaggerating, but you would too if you had been living in the Hyuuga compound for a week. A complete week.

"Neji!" She called out, realizing that he was walking very fast forward. She ran to him, tugging his sleeve, begging him to slow down. "Neji, please!"

He cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

"Slow down! I want to see... everything!" She finished happily; waving her hands to some of the sellers she knew when she was accompanying her mother shopping. He smirked. "Fine, but first things first."

"What first things?" She asked.

He gently pulled her to a weapons store - her favorite weapons store. Her eyes lightened at once when she saw the nameplate, but suddenly darkened again. She had a dawning look on her that Neji couldn't stop himself asking, "What?"

"I don't have any money with me." She sighed heavily. "Really, let's just go before I need to sell myself to get money or whatever."

She began to walk away, but Neji stopped her. As Tenten looked at him with a confused look, he smiled a teeny little smile at her. "I'll pay." He stated, as it was an obvious fact. She opened her mouth to argue, but he glared at her. "End of discussion." He said quickly.

"W-why?" She stuttered, a little shocked. He smirked and pulled her inside the store. "Just buy everything you need." He insisted.

Tenten looked at him quizzically, but when he gave her another glare, she stepped back and decided to just let him do his will. She gazed around the shop, while the shopkeeper rushed to her side. "Oh, Tenten-san!" He immediately noticed the kunoichi.

Tenten turned to the shopkeeper and gave him a grin. "Hello, Fuo-sama."

He nodded back at her and asked, "Can I help you with anything?"

"I will... look around for a while, really." Tenten gave Fuo the most satisfied smile she could muster. She looked around again, fixing her gaze on every shiny weapon attached to the wall, until a certain dagger caught her eyes. Its jeweled pommel was shaped like a tiger's claw and its blade was shiny and silver. She glanced at the price tag and gasped.

_No, Tenten, it's way too expensive,_ she thought to herself, stopping herself to reach out for the dagger. She glanced at it once last time, thinking how beautiful does the dagger looked, and turned away. She turned at Neji, who was looking very patient waiting for her to choose the right one.

"... I want that one." She whispered at him, pointing at another dagger up near his head. He smirked and nodded as he reached out for his wallet. "You could wait outside." He said quickly, and she nodded as she went out of the store.

Five minutes later Neji went out of the store, bringing a package, which he plunged to Tenten's arms. The girl smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you." She said. At least the one she chose was cheaper, and the dagger wasn't that bad either.

Tenten opened the package carefully, determined to make herself liking the dagger. As she pulled the dagger free from the straps that surrounded it, she realized that it was the dagger she liked. The one she had fell in love with. The jeweled dagger.

"Ne-Neji..." She gasped, and he turned at her, arching his eyebrows. "What?"

"This..." She eyed him curiously. "What do...? Why... I mean, how do you know...?" Damn it, it was so hard only to ask him!

Neji smirked and turned away again, not answering her question as he walked. She managed to catch up with him, feeling still curious. She tugged his clothes, and he turned again. "I'm not stupid." He said suddenly, freeing himself from Tenten's grab.

"I know you're not." She said quickly. "But still..."

He gave her a bitter laugh. "I wouldn't think of marrying you if I didn't even know what you like." He said flatly, choosing to give it up on her once. Just once.

Tenten blushed hearing that. "I..."

Neji smirked again.

"Thank you." She whispered shyly at last.

He gave her a sly grin and began to walk away, practically dragging her behind. If usually she struggles, this time she didn't.

--

"Ooh! Food!" Tenten gasped in delight as they entered a restaurant. She glanced at Neji, who was looking a little impatient as the waiter rushed to them, taking some menus off the bar. He led them to a table, giving them the menus in process.

Neji frowned when he saw the words in the menu and placed the menu down. She looked at him quizzically, arching her eyebrows. He gave her a glare. "Just choose. I'll eat whatever you eat."

She stared at him in confusion. "You may not like it." She said, half-amused. He glared piercingly at her again, and Tenten grinned apologetically. "Okay." She replied quietly and called the waiter to order sesame dumplings and rice.

Ten minutes after that the sesame dumplings came, Neji glaring at it and Tenten smiling happily at it. Sesame dangos were her favorite food, for like... forever! She had liked it since she was just five years old, and until now she still adores it.

While Tenten tried to make herself as comfortable as ever eating them. She noticed that Neji was practically disliking and ignoring the food, and she glanced at him worriedly. "Neji, you really should order something you like." She requested, putting emphasis on the words 'you like'. "You'll get hungry."

"I won't." Neji said.

"We have much shopping to do after this." She reminded him, trying again.

"I won't." He repeated, making it clear that it was the end of discussion. He was not to be protested again, and any protests being shouted up will be taken as offense, which was clearly not good, since you're dealing with one of the strongest jounins in Konoha.

Tenten gave up. She finished her food silently. Neji stood up when she had, and paid the food, acting like real gentleman. Not that he wasn't already, really. Hyuuga Neji was always a gentleman - only he often chose the wrong time to act like one.

Really. It's guaranteed.

They went off to another weapon shop, and Tenten had bought more weapons. She was practically a little uneasy about her spar match with Shizuka. It didn't even feel like a spar match anymore - it feels like a real battle to her.

And because Neji agreed to everything she bought, she knew that he was a little anxious about it even though he didn't show it.

They ended the day in Lee's house - he lives with Gai-sensei, and unfortunately the pinging teeth sensei was away on a mission - with afternoon tea. Lee was very happy to see them. He kept smiling gleefully and cheering, "Neji! Tenten! You're getting married soon! I am soooo happy for you!" which was getting Neji and Tenten on the edge of their patience.

Finally, Tenten had had enough. Speaking of marriage was grating her nerves terribly. She pinned Lee against the wall, using the sharpest dagger she could find slipped on her clothes.

"Drop it, Lee!" She snapped. Neji sighed in relief and sipped his tea coolly.

"Neji, can I speech at your wedding?" Lee asked suddenly, freeing himself easily. He glanced at Neji with puppy eyes, which had no affect whatsoever to the cool prodigy. Really, he was as cold as a stone. Lee wrapped his arms around his neck, which Neji usually shook off, but this time he glanced at Lee expectantly. "You can."

Tenten screamed - almost. She stared at Neji, a little amused and shocked that he had threw away any animosity he usually held towards the inhumanly exuberant Lee.

Lee was shocked too. "I can?" was all he could muster.

Neji nodded casually.

Tenten practically flinched, but she shrugged it off.

They remained in the safe zone minutes after that, talking about safe topics, just around taijutsu and how Lee was practically mastering them quite decently, and how Neji has already mastered it. Then again, Neji nearly mastered everything. He was, after all, a genius.

Everything seemed quite fine…

That is, until Lee asked one question. One deadly question. Deadly for Tenten, specifically.

"Will you be having babies?" The Green Beast of Konoha asked happily.

Tenten practically choked on her tea, while Neji stared at the empty air, clearly bothered.

But Lee had taken the silence as an answer. "Of course you are. For the names, I was thinking of Tenji, from Tenten and Neji, for a boy. Or Tenne, for a girl. Neten isn't that bad either... Well... Jiten isn't too." He looked at Neji and Tenten cheerfully, not realizing that they were both out of their lungs. Or silent. "What do you think, Tenten, Neji? Do you plan the first one to be a boy or a girl?"

_Babies. _

The word echoed in Neji's mind. Really, he wasn't that shocked. It was a tradition for the clan to have babies after they get married. But he didn't think about it at all, until Lee had brought the word up. He never imagined of having babies... with Tenten.

On their first night as husband and wife, Hiashi-sama may have him do it. But hey, it wasn't that bad... Tenten was quite sexy as a girl, and she had a very good as...

He smacked himself mentally. _Get away, thoughts,_ he shushed them quietly, _get away. _

_Babies._

The word echoed in Tenten's mind. She wasn't that surprised either. Hiashi-sama had mentioned babies on their dinner, but she really hadn't thought of it. Not clearly. Sure, the thoughts of having babies with one of the person she respected the most in the world had crossed her mind, but just once. And she killed it quickly.

Only this time, it was very hard to believe that she will be having babies. With Neji, moreover. She groaned silently. Really, it wasn't that bad. It may be excellent... She had always admired Neji, and for a boy, he's quite... good.

She furrowed her eyebrows. Since when did her thoughts get this dirty? She gulped and turned to her tea, drinking it quickly.

_Babies._

The word echoed in Lee's mind. He was very, very happy if Neji and Tenten chose Tenji, Tenne, Neten, or Jiten to name the baby. Then again, it was his 'very creative' -sometimes over, though- mind that gets the name popping out.

He had believed that one day Tenten and Neji will be having babies, and when he heard they were getting married, he was very happy for them. He could be his best man! Lee glanced at his teammates carefully, trying to make out the expression on their faces.

They will be married soon. And the night after the party, they will be having babies.

Lee smiled to himself and let his mind pondered the thoughts happily. He gazed at the tea dreamily, while pouring more to Tenten's cup.

"Lee." Neji cut his happiness out. "I think it's already the time for Tenten and I..."

"To what? Have babies?" His eyes shone in glee and happiness.

"No." Neji coughed uneasily as he pushed down the urge to kill Lee that right second down to the bottom of his heart. "To go home."

"Yes, yes." Tenten supported him as she stood up, Neji following. "Goodbye, Lee."

"Goodbye, Tenten! Neji! I'll miss you all!" Lee said, leading them to the door. "Oh, and Neji? I'm your speechmaker, okay?"

Neji didn't reply. He stood there, completely silent as he stared at Lee.

"I take that as a yes." Lee concluded. He turned to Tenten. "And Tenten? I will be so happy to be the godfather of your first child later on!"

Tenten also didn't reply. In her case, she was too speechless by his words.

Lee grinned. "I take that as a yes too." He said happily. "Well, then goodbye. I'll be practicing my genjutsus in our training ground if you need me." He slammed the door on their noses.

Silence.

An awkward one, in this case.

"Tenten."

Tenten's eyes shot focused on the call. "Yes?" She asked.

"We're not inviting Lee to the wedding."

"Yes." She agreed without thinking twice.

**To be continued**

--

**Notes**

I don't know. I have been in a writers' block, which I couldn't deny, so bear with this chapter for a while. I promise I'll make chapter eight worthwhile for those who still read this story…

Thank you for your support; your reviews have enlightened me and will always do. So… please review xP?


	8. Part 8

**Disclaimer: So tired of this, so apply standards.**

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews of the last chapter, guys! I appreciate you so much for it! Here's the next chapter, so ENJOY, though please beware of FLUFF xP.

--

**Part Eight**

**A Walk, A Talk, A Boy, Two Girls**

--

It was a very nice morning in the Hyuuga compound, and just as the clock struck seven, Tenten went out of her bedroom, her eyes tense and in her heart a raging storm. She gazed at the book in her arms - the book of the Hyuuga rules, yet she hasn't memorize the things needed for the test.

She herself didn't understand why today's test was very important to her. If she fails, chances are she was kicked out of the Hyuuga compound and was free forever, never being caged in this compound and never being forced to learn about the seven hundred seventy six of Hyuuga rules or to bake cakes she dislikes, or to cook different style of eggs with different seasonings to fulfill her husband-to-be's appetite - she could be just free.

However, if she succeeds the test (which she highly doubted), she will marry him in a handful of days and will forever live with the so-believed cold, heartless bastard named Hyuuga Neji, have cute but also heartless little children with him, and be another cold, heartless weapon mistress...

Tenten felt like knocking her head off. She has been thinking too much - her imagination has gone wild beyond her knowledge and her saneness. Oh well, don't blame anyone, though. Being locked in the white walls of the compound and seeing white-eyed people for a few days could make your normality be doubted.

She strolled over the corridor, her right hand flipping through the pages of the Hyuuga Rule Book as her left hand supported the heavy, five inches thick property. If it wasn't for her pride, she wouldn't have bothered going through all these boring rules.

Her pride, yeah.

That's what she _believed_ she was fighting for.

At least, until she crashed upon Hyuuga Neji himself at the end of the corridor, knocking him over and thumping the heavy book to his toe. Ouch, that must hurt so much.

"H-hey..." Tenten blushed awkwardly, feeling guilty for dropping the book to his feet. She saw him wincing a bit, but without waiting for his response, she bent down and picked up the so-called Hyuuga Rule Book and hugged it to her chest. "I'm sorry, Neji." She said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her hair with her right hand. "Does it hurt?"

Neji looked at her for a while, then to his red toe, and then his gaze returned to her eyes again. "What do you think?" He retorted casually. "Does it hurt when a heavy book is dropped to your toe?"

She winced being asked so. "Umm... Yes?" She guessed bravely, her eyes carefully tracing his right foot toe where the book landed heavily. Ouch, that must really hurt. She looked up and fixed her gaze with his. "Well, sorry!" She said defensively, "It's not like I did it on purpose!"

"... Yeah, sure." Neji nodded, folding his arms across his chest sardonically.

Tenten stared at his face in disbelief. Oh gosh, she was going to marry this arrogant, smirking genius bastard! Sure he was a genius, but he was arrogant too! Have pity on her, please - if she passes the test, she will live forever holding back her frustration of his arrogant attitude towards everyone. If she could, really, she would strangulate him, kill him with a knife, poke him until death, and hire assassins to torture him, or prepare a guillotine to chop his head off...

While the weapon mistress was imagining sadistic ways of killing him, Neji's pale, silent eyes stopped at the book she hugged closely to her chest, his eyebrows were furrowed knowingly. The Book of Hyuuga Rules - or the Hyuuga Rule Book, reserved for Branch members only.

He has hated the book ever since he was still a small, innocent kid (that is, if he has ever been innocent) for he was always forced to remember over than seven hundred both traditional and modern rules.

That wasn't the hardest part, though. The hardest part was to apply those seven hundred rules in your life. Do you understand now why he was always mulling over the crap about fate and destiny when he was still a teenage? That was because his life was ruled by these so-called rules.

For example, rule number five hundred forty seven. It was about 'don't take rivals for granted' or something like that, he couldn't remember clearly. It has been ages since he last saw and read the book, since for all that it takes, he would try to avoid this rule book as much as possible.

This specific rule has always pissed him off. How could you not take rivals in the world? There were always many people worthy of becoming good rivals, really, like that Uchiha Sasuke or Uzumaki Naruto, preferably. Both were strong shinobis worthy to be acknowledged as rivals, according to Neji's point of view.

Ah, but it doesn't really matter, right?

He was a branch member, no matter how much he has softened up to the head family. He was still a branch member, with so many stupid rules reserved for those who were born as a part of the branch family and those stupid seals for the head family to take control.

It has always been his goal - he wouldn't say as far as 'dream' - to change those destinies of branch members. They deserved better, and Neji's single goal was to try his best to change the rules and maybe erase the seals - which seemed quite impossible, remembering that the curse seal was there to keep the purity of the Hyuuga's bloodline limit; white eyes or the Byakugan.

"... Neji?" Tenten's soft voice snapped his head back to reality. She gazed at him in confusion, "What happened? What were you thinking about? You seemed out of it just then..."

He smirked the way he always has. "Nothing." He replied, arching his eyebrows arrogantly, his eyes straight to the book she was clutching. She followed his gaze and threw a bitter laugh. "Hey, Neji..." She said softly, "Can we... talk for a while?"

Neji eyed her quizzically. "We're talking." He pointed out the obvious.

"Yes." Tenten agreed, "But it would be nice if you could take me around the Hyuuga compound now, right? It has been... ages since we spend time together, I suppose."

He stared into her warm, brown eyes. He opened his mouth, wanting to ask, "Is spending time together that important to you?" but he restrained herself after noticing the urgency in her usually casual orbs. He nodded at last, "Fine." He said flatly, "I'll take you around." He turned his back at her and began to walk the other direction of the corridor.

"... Neji?" Came her soft call again.

Neji turned back, somewhere between irritation, impatience yet confusion. "Yes?" He asked, looking at her with a puzzled look on his face. It was then until he realized that she was reaching out her hand to him. He stared at her hand, then to her eyes, then back to her hand again. "Tenten?"

She smiled fondly, her eyes silently asking for something she has never asked for before. Not once, not in her entire life has she asked for this. "Please?" She requested.

Slowly, hesitantly, Hyuuga Neji did something he has never done before. He reached out for her hand and wrapped his hand around her fingers gently, as if afraid of breaking her hands if he holds her stronger than this.

"Come."

--

Tenten has never known that there was a playground area in the Hyuuga complex. She knew that the compound was huge, but she has never imagine that there was a mini park or something like that; complete with the swings, the slides... and the fountain in the middle.

The fountain was small, but to the weapon mistress, it was beautiful. The water was flowing, slowly crumbling over the top as in a waterfall effect. The sound of the water rushing played like a soft melody to her ears - yes, she has always loved fountains ever since she was just a little kid.

"You have been staring there for what... five minutes?" A rich, baritone but mocking voice snapped her back to reality. Tenten immediately looked up, fixing her gaze with her so-called husband-to-be's eyes. She didn't mind the mocking in his voice; she was all too used to him.

Completely ignoring his sarcasm, she breathed, "It _is_ beautiful."

Hearing this, Neji gave away a small smile. "Yes." He said slowly, his gaze flying to the flowing fountain. "My father was the one who planned this park." He added, a faraway look clouding in his pale eyes. Tenten stiffened a bit. It wasn't often that Hyuuga Neji speaks about his family, let alone his father. She felt his grip on her fingers tighten a bit, as he continued, "He said it is a must that the children have recreation, even in the compound alone, when they are not allowed to go outside. Some parents are overprotective of their children at that time, so my father calling for this idea was a big advantage for the clan. When my father has decided to give his life away, Hiashi-sama asked for this fountain to be made as a memorial for him. This fountain was built right after his death, with his name on the inner wall of the fountain."

Tenten let away an encouraging smile. She gazed at him, right as he stared at her. Their gazes met for a second before she said tenderly, "You must be proud."

"I am." He replied casually. "Here, look." He led her to the fountain's lowest bowl and showed her his father's name craved on it.

Tenten smiled again. "No wonder it's beautiful, Neji. It has the good will of your father."

Neji didn't say anything as his gaze was fixed to the craving.

The weapon mistress gave a little knowing look as she slipped her fingers out of his grip and moved to the swing, sitting on it. Seconds later she was already swinging on it, feeling the fresh, clean air flowing to her direction, blowing her hair to the other side.

"... Tenten..?" His voice was still with its usual coldness, silent demeanor, but there was something different in his eyes, this Tenten could see.

She glanced at him softly. "Yes?"

"Thank you..." Neji said, his voice now really soft, almost a whisper, but Tenten could hear it anyway.

She was stunned. It was not the first time Neji has thanked her, but this time it seemed more... She didn't know, she couldn't find a word to define it. More... Serious? No, that didn't sound right. More sincere..? Yes, that was the closest one she could get right now. She smiled at him.

"It's fine, Neji, really." She said softly, smiling generously, "I really think your father was a nice man."

"No, this is not about that." The Hyuuga prodigy insisted, his eyes drilling holes into her puzzled dark orbs.

She smiled a little. "So what is this all about?" She asked, uncertain as she swung on the swing freely, although her eyes were still fixed at his concerned face. He was confusing her - not that he never did, though. Hyuuga Neji was a mystery to everybody excluding no one, and until now he still was a walking mysterious prodigy to her eyes. He was standing so close, yet he seemed so far away - so unreachable, so untouchable.

"Thank you... for being my bride." Neji processed the words smoothly, without mistakes, but even insane people could see that he has a hard time mulling over those words and choosing what to say to the girl in front of him. Not just any girl - his bride, his future wife, yet someone he has never really try to learn about, but someone who has already matters so much to him and his life. She brought so many impacts, she changed him in so many ways – she was Tenten, and she was irreplaceable.

Tenten, again, was stunned. She blushed sweetly after her mind has finished studying his sentence. Nonetheless, she controlled herself anyway, not letting the blush taking over her face any moment longer.

"What is this about, Neji?" She asked again, now her voice concerned. "You've thanked me enough already."

"No, Tenten." He said roughly. "I'm asking for your freedom, for your hand-in-marriage, for the rest of your life, for your skills, for... I'm... I'm actually asking for _you_. Are you sure about this?"

"About what?" She asked softly, in contrast to his cracking voice, hers was tender yet smooth.

There was urgency in his voice - something the weapon mistress has never heard before. "Marrying me." He replied firmly, his gaze never looking away from her soft, tender eyes. "Are you... Do you want it?"

Tenten looked up and examined his expression carefully. Was he scared? No, that was probably a trick of the light. As far as she knew, there were only rare moments nearing death Hyuuga Neji was scared of, and sitting by a fountain certainly wasn't an experience on the brink of death.

"Do I want to marry you?" She asked, making sure. When he nodded, she tilted her head and swung on the swing again. "That's not a question I can immediately answer, you know." She said after a while.

Neji was silent, but she knew he felt disappointed anyway.

"Well..." The weapon mistress started, immediately drawing attention from the young Hyuuga prodigy. There was a twinkle in her eyes he often saw when she was teasing him - which often happened whenever they were sparring. "Do you want me to want it, then?"

"... I..." He silenced once more, but this time there was something in his eyes that she couldn't define. Hands down, Hyuuga Neji really was the man of mysteries. He drew closer in front of her, stopping her swing as his right hand touched her chin gently, his gaze met hers in a comfortable silence.

Without warning, he leaned down swiftly and kissed her lips gently, closing the gap between them in a breath-taking, earth-shattering kiss. His hands cupped her cheeks as she melt in his embrace. For once they forgot who they were, where they were, what they have - there was only the passion, and there were only the two of them.

It was then until Neji released her lips, slowly drawing back, his cheeks flushed as Tenten brushed her bangs off her face awkwardly, her red lips swollen as her breath uncontrolled.

"Ne-Neji..." She said, avoiding his gaze.

He looked down at her and cupped her chin with his fingers once more, gazing into her dreamy dark eyes. "Yes," He said after a moment, "Yes, I want you to want it."

Tenten blushed again, but this time she managed to get control of herself very quickly. "... Then yes, Neji." She said, getting up from the swing as she looked into his silver eyes breathlessly, "Yes, I want it, too."

"Good, then." He smirked, returning to his usual self. "We're going back, Tenten." He concluded, reaching out his hand to her.

She eyed his hand warily, then to his eyes, and back to his hand again. Receiving his hand would be her final decision - whether she would marry him or not. Accepting his hand would mean that she was to be with him forever. She smiled to herself. But hey, she didn't dislike the idea of being with him forever. It was even... exciting.

"Tenten?" He inquired.

"Yes, Neji." She said, placing her hand on top of his, "Let's go back."

--

"The test will be around twelve AM, Tenten-san." Tsuki said, flipping over the kimonos in Tenten's wardrobe. There were about five or six kimonos the weapon mistress has tried, but none of them matched Tsuki's high expectations. The kimonos were either 'too cheerful', 'too sorrowful', or 'your waist is too fat, Tenten-san'. The woman took out a white-colored kimono and silently examined it. "Try this."

Tenten accepted the kimono without protesting - Nah, she wasn't even thinking about how boring wearing a kimono was. She was... simply happy. Neji and her - although they weren't an official couple – yet - but she liked his expression whenever they were together. He was simply gorgeous. And loveable, too.

She put on the kimono carefully, slowly tying the overlaps to her side. She took the peach-colored obi from Tsuki and quietly tied in on her waist, her eyes slowly fixing on her own reflection in the mirror. This was the best she has tried today, actually.

"Nice one," Tsuki said at last, clasping her hands together as she sighed dreamily. "You will pass the test, Tenten-san, which I am sure of. Just try your best not to make any... mistakes, right." She smiled at her subordinate for the past week fondly. "You look very beautiful in that kimono. Hiashi-sama must be very satisfied."

"Thanks." Tenten replied gratefully, slowly putting on a pair of pink geta - wooden sandals often used to match kimonos – and looked at Tsuki, smiling. "Wish me luck, Tsuki-sensei."

"Of course I wish you luck!" The sensei smiled at her and slid the door open, "You and Neji-sama will make great parents, Tenten-san." She said, and giving one last nod she disappeared behind the door, leaving Tenten in her room.

The weapon mistress slowly looked at the clock as she chuckled lowly when she realized that it was only ten AM. She still has two more hours before the test started.

Tenten went out of her room, closing the door behind her once again. She decided to take a look around the southern part of the compound as she began to stroll through the corridors. She arrived in another small park - just like the one Neji brought her to just today, only the difference was there was no fountain here.

As the weapon mistress sat down on the swing, she noticed that a girl was standing nearby the swings, looking tentatively at her. Tenten gazed back at the girl, examining her carefully from close.

She was a very beautiful girl; one that could capture your eyes for a long time and catch your attention like a bird got its prey. She has dark, reddish brown hair that danced around her waist lightly, gracefully. Her movements were carefree yet fresh, and her absorbing blue-greenish eyes would keep you wondering where she got her genes from.

Tenten has rarely seen such a beauty in the Hyuuga compound. Not that she wanted to insult the complex, and not that the place was deserted too. No, the Hyuuga women were admirable ladies, too. Just look at Hinata, the heiress of the clan - her graceful movements yet her white, soft eyes. No, the Hyuuga compound was filled with loveable ladies, too, but this kind of girl in front of her was rare.

"Hi, you must be Tenten-san." The girl said knowingly, politely, her voice soft as she approached Tenten closer. A smile was on her face. "My name is Reiko... Hyuuga Reiko."

The weapon mistress' eyes widened a bit. "You're a Hyuuga?" She asked, a bit shocked. This girl in front of her didn't have white-eyes, and yet she was a Hyuuga. How interesting.

Reiko or whatever her name was blushed sweetly, her hands lifted up as she covered her reddish cheeks. "Ah... I'm sorry." She said softly, "I mean... I will be a Hyuuga in the next few days."

Tenten raised her eyebrows quizzically, but her quick mind immediately processed out the reasons. This girl must have the same fate as her - marrying a certain Hyuuga boy and getting the 'Hyuuga' as her surname. She looked at the girl, "Really? Me, too." She replied, rising up from the swing and holding out her hand. "Whose your... umm, husband-to-be, then? Anyone I know, probably?"

She has been around the Hyuuga compound for quite a while. She has browsed through the Hyuuga's photo albums and has somehow evaluated the eligible bachelors of the clan. She has also heard stories from Tsuki-sensei on them.

There was Hyuuga Kei, the most cheerful, the kindest, but a bit stupid with his gorgeous, never-ending smiling face. There was also Hyuuga Kaito, the strategist, one recognized as one of the cleverest men of the Hyuuga branch members apart from Neji himself. Then there was Hyuuga Ito - one of the coldest, heartless men in the clan, too.

Oh, and there was also Maiko. Don't forget that man of Shizuka's. The proud, the conceited, but stupid bastard of the Hyuuga. How embarrassing.

Reiko blushed again, shaking her hand with Tenten's. "... Oh... That..."

She seemed so much like Hinata - always shy and needing encouragement - to Tenten's eyes that the weapon mistress couldn't help but remember her white-eyed best friend. Being the Hyuuga heiress, Hinata must have been so much busier now that her father has acknowledged her being a strong kunoichi of their clan, worthy of praises.

"Don't worry, if you don't wanna tell me, it's okay." Tenten quickly said, looking at the girl kindly. She really reminded her of Hinata, and thinking about it now, she really missed the Hyuuga heiress.

The blue-greenish-eyed girl smiled softly. "I am... Hyuuga Neji-kun's girlfriend."

And immediately, Tenten's smiled dropped.

"_What?_"

**to be continued**

--

**End Notes**

Ha, there's the romance! Yay! After long chapters without real interactions of them both, this chapter has it all. Ah, and there's my Mary-Sue-ed OC. I need her to LOOK perfect, so please bear with me for a while xP.

I hope that is worth the wait xP. Actually this has gone far out of the very rough outline I did several months ago, but yeah… I think this is better than the first version, actually. It wouldn't be fun if they just get married like that, now would it?

Don't worry, I still heart NejiTen. Don't blame me for wanting to put more romance and fluff in this story since the few first chapters never really have any big romance or fluff, which I think this chapter has.

Review! I'm so happy today!

Thankies!!


	9. Part 9

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Really, nothing… Alright, I own nothing… NOTHING BUT THE WORLD!! MWAHAHAHAHAH!! –sweat drops- Err, please continue reading?**

--

**Part Nine: Farewell**

--

Tenten was seriously shocked.

This girl... This girl was Neji's girlfriend?

She didn't know that he has a girlfriend already.

Well, if he has, what was she herself doing here, anyway? This was completely confusing... yet infuriating.

"Come again." She said to Reiko at last after regaining back her usual cool, calm composure.

Well, even if she wasn't as cool or composed as Neji was, she still was one confident woman. She was not going to lose her face just by hearing something very shocking by a girl she has just known.

Yes, she was not going to give in to her shock.

"... Wh-What?" Reiko asked, clearly not getting what Tenten meant.

"You're whose what?" Tenten asked again, waving her hand subconsciously to Hyuuga Neji's so-called girlfriend's face.

The blue-greenish-eyed girl blushed slightly and quickly covered her cheeks with her slender fingers as she gazed into the weapon mistress' darkening eyes.

"I am Neji-kun's girlfriend and fiancée..." She said quietly, tilting her head as she examined Tenten's expression. She could see that the so-called weapon mistress was shocked, that was obvious enough even for _anyone_ to see. "Tenten-san... What's wrong?"

"Nothing." The weapon mistress quickly replied, straightening herself once more.

She was not going to explode and curse Hyuuga Neji here. It would be embarrassing. She could just fail the test on purpose and that will be enough revenge for him and his damn proposal.

But if she fails the test, wouldn't it mean that she was the stupid one? _Damn it_.

Damnation to them all.

She looked at Reiko and smiled at the girl, "Sorry, I was out of it just then. Then... would you tell me more about this guy... What's his name again?"

"Neji-kun." Reiko helped, blushing once more; making Tenten almost shook her head. This girl was too much like Hinata that probably they could be twins if Hinata wasn't born as the clan's heiress.

Tenten feigned a very sweet sickening smile to her. "Yes, Neji-kun." She said, "Tell me more about him, please."

"Oh... Neji-kun..." Reiko fingered her chin quietly, looking at the sky as she pondered over her thoughts on the certain Hyuuga prodigy. "He is... kind, sweet, loving... Umm, he is a very romantic guy indeed... Umm, we've been together for like ten years already... He might be a little dense sometimes, but he is nice at times when I want him to be nice." She said, and then looked at Tenten softly, "Well, he's just always there when I need him. What's your... fiancée like, Tenten-san?"

By this time, Tenten wasn't really listening to Reiko anymore. Neji... Kind? Sweet? Loving? Romantic? Oh, gosh, please make somebody tell her that Reiko was completely lying! Neji and kind were rarely put into one sentence, even along with sweet, loving and romantic. Where did the guy learn about being sweet, loving or romantic, anyway?

Every time she saw him, he was simply training or doing something that benefits himself or sometimes his team. Oh, or maybe doing something else saner, since Hyuuga Neji was always sane, but he was never reading romance novels or romancing someone... And since when did Reiko said they went out? Ten years ago? It's already _ten years_ and he hasn't said _a word_ about it to her, his _other _bride-to-be?

Wow. He's certainly going down. Down, down and down. To hell, it might even be. Just see how he will deny all of her questions - that is, if he really was a coward. Hey, who knows? Someone could be very strong about a thing and be a complete coward about another!

The weapon mistress clenched her fist, completely ignoring Reiko's strange looks at her and the girl's sole question. She was definitely going to see Neji after this, before the test, so that it will all clear up and she could resign from the test - if possible, and if needed to. This was all according to his reactions towards her questions.

"... Tenten-san...?"

"Yes?" Tenten's head snapped back to reality. "Yes, what is it, Reiko-san? Sorry, I was out of it again... Guess I haven't been sleeping well lately." She eyed the girl, who was now strangely looking sad. "Reiko-san... You look sad. What is it if I may know? Anything I can help you with?"

Reiko lowered her head, then looked up at the weapon mistress slowly, little crystals of tears formed on the edge of her beautiful eyes. She wiped it quickly and gave a sniff, then gazed at Tenten deliberately. The weapon mistress gasped a bit as she furrowed her eyebrows, confused.

"Now what?" She wanted to ask, but decided that it wouldn't be polite to ask something as blunt as that to someone she has just known for not more than ten minutes.

Damn it, living ruled by the Hyuuga Girls' rules certainly has bring her some... umm, changes in her attitudes towards other people.

"Can I tell you a secret, Tenten-san?" Reiko asked, her voice shaking.

When Tenten nodded just to get out of the situation as soon as possible - yes, she hated it when somebody cried in front of her.

Crying showed weakness for her, and the weapon mistress certainly didn't appreciate those who showed their weaknesses in front of people they just known.

"Actually I don't want to get married yet." She replied, her voice now soft but still shaking a little, making Tenten's eyes widened by about a fraction by the sudden statement. Looking at the weapon kunoichi, Reiko continued, "There are still a lot of things I want to do out there... And being Neji-kun's bride never really helps. He is the prodigy of the clan - that is why the clan leader wants a perfect woman for him, right?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows a little and spat a bitter laugh. "I have too many goals, really... That Neji-kun appreciates me for. But that too, prevents me from... loving him more. You... Tenten-san, you do know what it takes to be a bride of the Hyuuga, don't you..?"

Tenten looked at Reiko. She couldn't tell if this Reiko was lying or not - Sure, Neji was too damn cold even for a prodigy, but she never thought that he will be hiding the fact that he already has a girlfriend, and yet still asked her to be his wife.

The Hyuuga prodigy could be cold, but he wasn't a type of guy who would two-time people. He was far too cold for that, too unloving yet uncaring - it was almost like that his love was limited, and that was one of the reasons why Tenten believed that Neji wouldn't two-time her.

Oops - not that they were a couple, though. Not that they were ever a couple, too.

That was definitely too random.

_Or too good to be true_? A little part of herself chimed in, making Tenten uncomfortable. She just wanted to snap at that part. Fancy her wanting to marry him out of her own! _This is not what I wanted at the first_!

Yeah. At the first.

"What it takes to be a bride of the Hyuuga?" The weapon mistress repeated at last, gazing back at the sky. "No, I don't really know. I'm very new here, actually..." She lied professionally.

Reiko laughed bitterly. "Being a Hyuuga's wife or husband... That means living up to the standards they set up for you." She said quietly, "Like, for example, girls should be perfect just as how the clan heiress is. You have met Hyuuga Hinata, haven't you? They say she lives up to those standards..." Her quiet eyes turned into orbs with full hatred. "Discrimination is going very well in this clan. The Hyuuga heiress can be as stupid as she pleases, but the branch members should just shut the hell up and-" She stopped all of a sudden and blushed, "Sorry... I... I guess I am just not pleased with the way of how the clan works."

"Reiko-san, how old are you?" Tenten asked.

"... What?"

"Just answer it."

Reiko tilted her head a while. "I... I'm twenty two next year." She whispered at last, her voice soft.

"Twenty two? Such a young age and you're marrying the prodigy of the clan?" Tenten laughed pleasingly, "You're such a lucky girl, Reiko-san. From all that I heard, he is a loving guy. He must love you so much, right, that he wants to marry you as soon as possible?"

"Well, I..." Reiko's face darkened. "I still don't want to marry him." She said darkly, pausing from a while and brightened up as if she has got a very good idea. She turned to Tenten swiftly and clutched the weapon mistress' hands. "Tenten-san... Would you help me? I... I want to get out from the compound as soon as possible. I want to run aw-…"

"What's the use of running away?" The weapon mistress interjected, her eyes unpleasantly blazing at Reiko's calm orbs.

Without scales, she hated people who run away. People who choose to give in to the problem. People who never really know how to work hard to get what you want.

And immediately, Tenten knew that Reiko was one of the types of people she hated.

Yes, she was a Hyuuga bride - She was even _Neji's_ other bride-to-be, but yet she was so... weak. No, not weak in ninja skills, they haven't fought in a real combat yet, but weak in determination.

She was simply weak, so giving in to her fate and destiny... so alike the former Neji. The teenage Neji - the Neji before he met Naruto. He was, too, weak that he gave in too much and believed that fate couldn't be changed.

But it was back then. Now, he was simply stronger.

"Please... help me?" Reiko chose to ignore Tenten's question. She has no intention of picking a fight here.

Tenten's eyes grew cold. "If you want to run away, choose another person. Don't pick me." She said sharply, getting up. "And tell your fiancée if you don't want him. That's so much easier from running away from..." She spat out the last word with evident hatred, "... _fate_." She stormed away, clearly angry, leaving Reiko on the swing.

The blue-green-eyed girl gazed at the emerging form of the weapon mistress with equal hatred. She then smiled evilly and got up, too.

"We shall just see."

--

Tenten was sitting on the floor, the book of the Hyuuga rules in front of her. There was still an hour before the test, and even if she wasn't sure that she wants to pass it now, she will use this time to study. It was all for her pride, anyway - yes, pride.

She would admit that she kind of liked the idea of marrying Hyuuga Neji, but she wouldn't go as far as saying that she loves him. No, she wouldn't love someone like him - someone who hides the truth for like, ten years already and never said a word about it. She has sent a message for someone to call Neji for her since she really needed to talk with him about Reiko. That is, if _she_ really was Neji's bride. You couldn't really trust somebody you just met - and certainly not somebody who showed their weaknesses so easily.

Just as she was going to concentrate at last, the door slid open, breaking her concentration into thousand pieces. She looked up; a string of curses left her lips just as she realized that it was Neji.

"Why are you here?" She asked all of a sudden, shocked to the very least.

The Hyuuga prodigy flashed a strange look at her. "I heard you're looking for me." He said stiffly, entering the room and closing the door behind him. He settled down across the table, smirking arrogantly as his eyes scattered around her kimono. She looked stunning, if not beautiful, but it wasn't like he was going to say it out loud.

Picture this: Hyuuga Neji, telling someone that she was one of the most beautiful things he ever saw. Okay, that could happen, so picture this, too: Hyuuga Neji, telling _Tenten_ that she was one of the most beautiful things he ever saw. That... would not happen.

At least, not now.

He wasn't ready to admit it - it was almost like admitting that he loved her - not that he ever did, anyway.

"Yes, I am looking for you." The weapon mistress nodded consciously, "But hey, I thought you are always busy. Whatever happened to those loads of works you usually needed to finish? What happened to the documents you needed to sign, too? Did they just... fly away or vanish in a blink of eye?"

Her sense of humor was nice, but sometimes it could be annoying - that Neji has known. They have been sparring partners for years, and those harsh times of training weren't for nothing. There were special times of team bonding - and sometimes quality time of just them both, without Lee, Gai, their shouts of youth, those sunsets which usually appeared whenever Lee and Gai were hugging - no, just them both.

And no matter how many times they did this special quality time, Neji was never bored of it. Sure, he hasn't really tried to get to know her better, but talking with her was nice. He has no intention of knowing her better, but those quality times were worth it. Even if he didn't ask to know her better, he did, and he was glad of it. Those quality times were not on purpose, but Neji sure appreciated her more after those team bonding events.

There were also times where the quality time between them both was on purpose - like the day they have went out together to buy Gai a birthday present. Lee was not at present, since he chose to give a personal gift on his own, as a 'youthful' subordinate he claimed he was. Oh, it was not only on Gai or Lee's birthdays - she has offered to treat him in all-you-can-eat restaurant when it was HIS birthday, and she discovered a fact about him: strong as he was, Hyuuga Neji sure didn't eat much.

Now from where did his huge stamina comes from?

It was still an unanswered yet unspoken question for Tenten.

Actually, the times they were on their own were just too much to count. If you call training as quality times, then they have more than a thousand in hand. They sparred together, strengthening each other like teammates were supposed to, and sometimes even have a little talk about... things. Not just as simple teammates, but as best friends, and sometimes as a man and woman.

"No, actually I left them for you." Neji replied at last, choosing to just say the truth rather than cover it. He saw Tenten's eyes twitched in discomfort and a little shock. She stared at him just as he flashed a strange look onto the book on the table in front of her. Without waiting for her reply, he turned at her, "What do you need from me?"

Tenten looked at Neji deliberately, mulling over words in her mind so that she wouldn't let out any unwanted truths. "I met Reiko." She simply said, looking closely at her so-called husband-to-be, wanting to see any change of expression on his face - which he didn't do. Neji's face stayed stoic as his eyebrows were drawn together, showing that he was somewhere in between confusion.

"Who's Reiko?" He asked at last, his eyes glued to hers.

"_Your_ girlfriend." She looked at him in disbelief, snapping the book close on the table. Damn it, Neji was really grating her nerves. The way his eyes looked at her, the way his whole face kept solemn, and lastly the way his eyebrows were furrowed in an arrogant arch - all were blended into the one and only Hyuuga Neji. "Gosh, Neji, don't tell me that you don't remember your first and last girlfriend's name."

He gazed at her sedately and frowned. "I don't ever remember having a girlfriend." Neji said at last, standing up. "And I don't know someone named Reiko, Tenten, so shut it." Without waiting for her reply, he left the room, leaving Tenten in confusion.

"If she's not, then who is she?" She asked to herself.

Yeah, who was she?

--

Tenten walked through the corridors, bringing heavy books on her sides. She stopped near the door which led to the test room, and gazed at her watch. She still has thirty minutes left - she could use the time for a little walk around the area.

She scouted the place before she went outside to the cool, fresh air. She put her books down onto the green grass and settled down, too, just as she saw a shadowy figure trying to climb out the wall of the Hyuuga compound. She squinted her eyes a little - well, that dark hair, that pink kimono clothing... wasn't that Reiko-san?

Standing up, wanting to ask her about the unrevealed reality, Tenten strolled towards the white wall, nearing to the figure.

"Reiko-san!" She called out loud, waving her hand politely. "What are you doing here?"

Reiko turned at her and swiftly sent a smile.

"Hey, Tenten-san. I am just trying to get out of the compound." She explained, looking blankly at the walls and then delivered a bitter laugh, "But it seems impossible, really."

Now Tenten really hated those who showed their weaknesses, but she hated those who thought everything was impossible without trying their best more. She looked at the white walls and then turned at Reiko.

"Fine, I'll help you." She said after deliberating over some facts for a while. Maybe by helping her, she would finally tell her who's lying. Is it her or Hyuuga Neji? Tenten didn't know why, but she really wanted to know. No, scratch that – she needed to know. Definitely.

The easiest way to get out was probably to use absolute chakra control on the foot. Tenten gazed at the walls again. "Reiko-san, you're a kunoichi, right?"

"... Me? A kunoichi?" Reiko asked, alarmed. "No, I'm not!"

_So that's why_, Tenten thought carefully. She wasn't surprised either - Reiko's chakra was too faint. It was either she was a very good kunoichi with excellent hiding skills that she could even waddle with her chakra's aura, or it was that she wasn't even a kunoichi. Seeing that she wasn't even thinking of using chakra, it was clear to the weapon mistress now that the girl was not a kunoichi.

"... Here, let me help you, then." Tenten said, activating the chakra on her feet. She touched the wall for a while to check the density and lessened the amount of chakra on her feet before she clutched Reiko's waist easily and lifted the body of the girl. "Hold tight," She reminded, "This might be rough."

Reiko closed her eyes immediately as she clutched hard to Tenten's arms, clearly afraid. She did ask for help, but she never thought that it was going to be like this. The weapon mistress started to walk vertically on the wall, concentrating on her chakra control. Damn it, it has been days since she last practiced to use her chakra like this.

"Wait! What do you think you're doing!?" Someone shouted, just as Tenten began to lose her balance. The kunoichi quickly leaped to the grass, shocked to the max. She put Reiko down and looked at the figure emerging to the two bride-to-be of Hyuuga Neji - one was self-proclaimed, the other was claimed.

Tenten nodded curtly as she gave a polite curtsy. "Shizuka-san." She said; her heart racing as she kept her emotions all under control.

Where was Neji when she needed him? He seemed to be always there when she didn't need him, but always away when she needed him - at times like these.

Dealing with the bride-to-be of Neji's eternal rival herself surely wasn't her best subject. Not even after those attitude lessons Tsuki has passed for the week.

"Please, I'm sorry." Reiko said quickly, "Tenten-san here is trying to... Umm..." She seemed at loss of words for a time as Tenten gave her the chance to speak to Shizuka herself. "Tenten-san is trying to kidnap me."

"What...?" Tenten's eyes widened. Who's trying to kidnap who? And since when does _she _want to kidnap Reiko?

God, she hates the word 'kidnap'. It sounds weird, and it's weird.

"You sickening bitch!" Shizuka let out a string of curses, "You will get kicked out of the compound if you did this! I'll tell Hiashi-sama!" Shizuka pulled out a kunai, waving it around her maliciously, but did not attack.

Tenten furrowed her eyebrows once more, thinking hard. These two... Were they actually trying to get her kicked out of the compound? If yes… Oh, gosh, and she has fallen right into the trap.

Without considering things anymore like she used to, she extracted two scrolls out of her obi and planted them into the grass, her hands moving swiftly doing hand seals.

"Soushou-!" She yelled, but was cut out by a kunai flying right pass her nose, not touching.

"Hiashi-sama!" The three girls exclaimed, looking straight at the Hyuuga clan leader himself. Hiashi came into the scene, his face angry.

Tenten gulped a little as she took her scrolls and quietly rolled them skillfully. It was best not to open your mouth before he asked - this Tenten learnt in one of the lessons with Tsuki.

"Tenten-san is attacking us, Hiashi-sama!" Shizuka accused, looking in evident hatred towards the weapon mistress, whose eyes twitched in discomfort hearing the accusation. She really wanted to curse both Shizuka and Reiko - but mostly _herself_ for letting all these happened. And where was Shizuka's kunai? How come it just… _disappeared_?

Hiashi gave a stern look. "Tenten-san. Is what I heard right?"

Without giving Tenten the opportunity to answer, suddenly Shizuka's face turned furious. She put her arms around Reiko protectively, as if defending her from Tenten and glared at the weapon mistress. "Of course that's right, Hiashi-sama!" She quickly said, "My sister will never lie! Is that true, Reiko?"

"... Yes, Shizuka-neechan." Reiko nodded, tears forming in her eyes as Tenten furrowed her eyebrows. "Tenten-san... I never have known you to be such a violent girl. I thought you are a nice kunoichi, being Neji-sama's bride all along!" She said, sniffing accusingly.

Thinking no more, Tenten glared at Reiko. She didn't bother to think anymore, really - her emotions were definitely controlling her. Her hands pulled out her scrolls and without even doing bothersome hand seals, she has yelled, "Soushouryu!" and leaped to mid air, summoning weapons as she threw them skillfully at the girls - and Hiashi-sama himself.

Being the certain clan leader, Hiashi activated his Byakugan and quickly defended them. "Hakkeshou Kaiten!" He shouted, turning into a blurry vision of spinning circular chakra wall, deflecting each and every one of her weapons. Tenten landed gracefully on the ground, letting out a string of curses.

"Tenten-san, I appreciate you no more." Hiashi said at last. "I have lost my trust in you. First you tried to attack Shizuka-san and Reiko-san, and now you try to attack me. Such girl is not needed in the Hyuuga clan, Tenten-san. Please pack your things and leave."

"Wh-What?!" The weapon mistress' eyes widened by about a fraction of Hiashi's sudden death sentence. "You... You're kicking me out?!"

"Yes." Hiashi replied through gritted teeth. "Leave. _Now_."

Oh, god.

How was she supposed to tell Neji?

**To be continued. **

--

**End Notes**

That's it. I HATE REIKO!! xP. No, I don't. She's there for _other _purposes. This whole Tenten-leaving thing is just one out of her many purposes.

And sure, I still have the Shizuka Vs. Tenten fight looong after this. I'll have that. And this whole chapter... the plot twist... everything was fast-paced. Or so I think.

Oh, damn it. I just stirred Hiashi-sama's giddy attitude (there are fics where he was out-going, fun, and gave a whole lot understanding to the teenage world, but in this fic, he's not) to the annoying Hiashi-sama he is in the fic. I never really think of him of being the fun daddy of Hinata, so making him a bit… evil (?) like now is just fine for me. Very xP.

And… uh, I guess that isn't really much of what I want it to be… I sort of wanted Tenten to just get kicked out xP, but I have failed my own expectations. Oh well, I'll do better next time. My school exams and projects are killing me –especially my _farming_ project. My damn TOMATOES JUST WON'T GROW!!, so I have little time to write. However, I have started just a sentence of the next chapter, so don't expect fast updates.

This has gone far towards expectations – The first rough outline, it was going to end about chapter ten, but now I couldn't end it by rushing, so I guess it would be longer. He… Sorry for the wait!!

And the rambling. I congratulate you if you read word-per-word until here. xP.

Review, and thanks!


	10. Part 10

**Disclaimer: No, I own nothing except the things I own right now, which includes no Naruto. Although I do have the series in my DVDs collection… -smack myself for going off-topic-**

--

**Part Ten: Forever Goodbye**

--

Tenten clutched her pink kimono and folded it carefully before putting it inside her giant bag. Even when she realized she was meeting freedom after being inside the compound for days, she was not happy. Then again, not a sole positive feeling was in her heart - she was all angry, frustrated, betrayed, and sad.

Yes, sad - even when she didn't completely understand why. She needed to be happy - she ought to be happy, actually. She was finally going _out there_, never being bonded by those stupid Hyuuga Girls Rules or the Branch Member Rules - she will be free, and she loved freedom.

She ought to have no reason for being sad like this. Oh, she has enough reasons to suggest why she was angry, frustrated or betrayed - remember Shizuka and Reiko, and you will get what she meant. But _sad_? Why would she be sad, anyway?

It was not even like she loved living here in the compound, bringing heavy books with her every day, almost being punished throughout the week, and having to wear those troublesome yet colorful kimonos each time in the mansion.

If you look from the outside, maybe all the Hyuugas lived like a prestigious clan it really was, having fun almost every time, but no. Apparently, the word 'fun' never really entered Hiashi-sama's mind.

She sighed heavily and took the kunai slipped between her obi and her kimono before juggling it playfully, looking at her ruined wardrobe. She didn't realize that she has this much clothes - her parents must went overboard when hearing that she was going to marry a prodigy from one of the most prestigious clans of Konoha.

And now, she really was going to disappoint them badly.

She stabbed the kunai on an archery board in the room and resumed packing, this time taking a handful of socks and forcing them into her almost full gigantic bag.

Just as she gazed to the table, asking herself if she wanted to take the flowers' names dictionary Neji gave with her or not, the door slid open, revealing Tsuki behind it.

The Hyuuga woman stomped inside, her face red of raging, but she made no effort in saying anything to Tenten except, "I assume that you need help packing." and started to fold another handful of kimonos the weapon mistress has.

"Tsuki-sensei..." Tenten whispered. Yeah, she needed to say sorry to Tsuki, really. If she didn't get mad of Shizuka's or Reiko's evil deeds, she wouldn't get kicked out like this. Yes, kicked out might sound harsh, but it was all the truth. Why hide reality, anyway? "I'm so sorry." She said, bowing her body down, "I must have disappointed you so much. You have helped me many times, and I'm sorry that I have no time to pay you back..."

Immediately, Tsuki's face softened. "It's okay." She said at last, tying the kimonos up with their obis before forcing it into another bag of Tenten's. "I understand what Shizuka-san is like, but you did attack her and her sister, and that is what Hiashi-sama will never appreciate, Tenten-san."

"I never intended to do that-"

"Look, I heard the complete story from a servant passing by, Tenten-san, so I know exactly what happened." The sensei looked at Tenten quite sternly, "I don't think that there will be any other time, but as a teacher, I would just tell you to be more careful next time you face a situation like this." She sighed softly and gazed at the weapon mistress again, "Have you told Neji-sama about this?"

Tenten's face fell. "Oh, god. No, I haven't." She said mournfully, scolding herself. How could she forget about Neji while she was packing? He was the reason she was here from the first time, and she just forgot about him. "Should I... Should I go and tell him now? Where is he?"

"I would say no, Tenten-san." Tsuki said firmly, her face sad, "He might not say that, but I think Hiashi-sama will never let you meet Neji-sama ever again. He doesn't like girls who violate other people, and-"

"I never violated people!"

"You just did - or at least what you just did looks like violating to the clan leader's eyes." Tsuki finished her sentence, looking stern but there was a hint of uneasiness in her voice. "I'm sorry, Tenten-san. All I could assure you now is that Neji-sama is busy with his work and Hiashi-sama will allow nobody, let alone you, to meet him right now. Neji-sama works very well for the clan and Hiashi-sama would not want any distractions on him. Do I make this clear?"

"Crystal." Tenten replied sarcastically, her hands taking Shu-chan, her panda doll named after the weapon shuriken, and hugged it dearly. If Tsuki couldn't let her meet Neji, she will just have to speak to the clan leader himself, then. She silenced before slumping the doll into the bag, sighing sorrowfully.

Tsuki looked at her softly. "Do you have any one last wish, Tenten-san?" She asked gently. Even if they didn't really get along that well, Tenten was her first student ever, and even if she wouldn't admit it out loud, she knew that she liked this confident, clever and sharp weapon mistress and will miss her after she moved out of the compound. "I might not be able to change Hiashi-sama's decisions, but I could help you with anything. That is, if what you want is still under my expectations."

The weapon mistress looked at the now empty wardrobe, and then to her sensei for the week. She grinned mischievously. "Then... I would like to meet with Hinata, please." She said, "I want to meet the clan heiress. She's free, right?"

"Well, I guess so..." Tsuki said uncertainly, "Why would you want to meet Hinata-sama, anyway?"

"It's all for the best." Tenten assured confidently, "So can I?"

The Hyuuga woman tilted her head subconsciously, considering over some things for a while before at last she turned towards the weapon mistress, her eyes filled with determination. "Fine." She said sternly, "Meet me outside fifteen minutes more."

"Thanks." The weapon mistress said. She gazed at the dictionary of flowers' book once more as an idea dawned to her. She took out a paper and a pen before settling down on the table. She still has fifteen minutes more... It would be more than enough. She was no good in writing letters, and she disliked the job either, but for now, she will just give in to it. Tenten bent down and began writing...

--

Hinata was reading a book in her room before she heard a knock on her bedroom door. She slipped out of the chair and slid it open, only to meet to the eyes of the very weapon mistress of Konoha, who happened to also be one of her best friends. Her serious face immediately relaxed, and her flat lips curved into a cheerful smile.

"Tenten!" She greeted softly, "Come in!"

"I haven't seen you for days, Hinata." Tenten said slowly, entering the room. Hinata's room was very big, compared to her tiny one - this was no surprise for her. Even if Hinata was shy, she was still a clever, strong, and determined kunoichi and the clan heiress, too, earning her this gigantic room filled with all the luxury and expensive-looking things. "Where have you been?"

"Do-doing this and t-that..." The clan heiress replied, sitting down on her bed. She motioned Tenten to sit. "What brings you here?"

Tenten told her the complete story - on how she was betrayed by Shizuka and Reiko, and falsely accused by the siblings. Hinata's eyes widened and a sad smile grew on her face when she heard that the weapon mistress was kicked out of the compound, forever banned inside. That is, if her father still couldn't change his mind. There must be some misunderstanding between Hiashi and Tenten.

"So... Hinata, can I ask you for a favor?" There was a mischievous smile playing on the weapon mistress' slightly swollen lips, making Hinata wondering if Neji has kissed her or not. She tilted her head quizzically, as Tenten continued, "I would really like to meet your father, Hinata, and deliver some last words to him before leaving this compound forever..."

"Oh... I don't know about that, Tenten, but let's try." Hinata said, getting up. They went out of the room and Hinata led the weapon mistress to Hiashi's meeting room. The room was where her father was always seated during 10 AM to 3 PM these days, developing a new taijutsu style that the Hyuuga could use. The clan heiress knocked on it, and after hearing a soft "Come in." from inside, she slid the door open.

Hiashi's eyes darkened when he saw the reflection of the weapon mistress behind Hinata. He rose up, putting down his research notes on the table and motioned them to approach. "What are you doing here?" He asked Tenten, his eyes narrowing as Hinata scooted closer to her father, as a custom of what she should do each time they were in the same room. "Didn't I tell you to leave?"

"I just want to ask for one thing before leaving, if I may, Hiashi-sama." Tenten said politely, giving a small curtsy. She was sick of this whole 'be polite or else' thing, but the thought that she didn't have to do it ever again refreshed her mind, body _and_ soul. As Hiashi nodded, she smiled politely again, "Thank you for letting me to live here. It is always a strange experience living in other places other from my own home, but still I thank you. And..." She paused for a moment before pasting a longing look on her face, "I want to meet Neji first before leaving, if I may, too."

"No." Hiashi immediately answered, "Neji is busy with his work. You will only be a distraction."

Tenten has expected the answer, but not this fast - and not with limited space to argue either. "But..." She tried, but soon found herself at loss of words.

"F-Father..." Unexpectedly, Hinata jumped to the rescue. The shy Hyuuga heiress blushed, but with all her might, she continued her words under the death glare of her father. "P-please let Tenten meet with Ne-Neji-niisan..?"

"No, Hinata. Such violent woman is not needed beside the man important to the clan." Hiashi said, "It is all decided."

"But..."

Hiashi sighed. "A no is still a no, Hinata." He said with complete and utter determination, "The elders have it decided just then - you will marry Neji, Hinata." This last sentence made Tenten and Hinata's eyes widened in surprise.

Hinata looked like she almost fainted from the pressure. Sure, she liked Neji - but not in that way! "He... He's my cousin, father!" She tried to argue, leaving the usually shy Hinata behind, "And... And I have a man I love already!"

"I know." The Hyuuga clan leader's eyes were cold as he continued his words gravely. "But you are the clan heiress, and it is your responsibility to do what the clan requires you to do. You are my daughter, you will not embarrass me. Neji is a very important man to the clan - he shows himself trustworthy. It is best for the clan to see that you marry him, Hinata. That way we could still protect the purity of the Byakugan."

"... This is stupid," Tenten murmured under her breath, but still loudly enough for Hiashi and Hinata to hear. She did it on purpose, she knew it, and that was why she felt satisfied when the two Hyuugas looked at her, one in anger, and another in surprise.

"Te-Tenten..." Hinata whispered in disbelief.

"It's okay, Hinata." Tenten said quickly, smiling innocently, "I will leave now. I have said what I want to say, and that is more than enough." She nodded slightly towards Hiashi, "Thank you, Hiashi-sama, and sorry for all the troubles. Don't worry; I don't think you'll ever see me again."

With that, she left the room quietly, nagging her heavy luggage behind her as Hiashi sighed and slumped back on his chair, as Hinata followed the weapon mistress out. They arrived at the gates of the complex, and Tenten turned towards her best friend, "Thanks for seeing me out, Hinata. Oh, and can I ask for another one thing from you?"

"What... is it?"

The weapon mistress gazed at the Hyuuga girl, smiling softly. If this girl really was going to marry Neji, then the least she could do for the cousins was just to let it happen. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she knew herself that she was _almost_ in love with the Hyuuga prodigy throughout the weeks.

His careful and limited attention, his somewhat protectiveness, his affections, his... arrogance towards her, and his smile reserved for her only.

She knew that if she stayed even a day longer in the compound with him, she will fall. Not literally, but… _fall_ - for him, moreover. And now that she was banned forever from the compound, she will say that she was glad. Falling in love with him was the least thing she wanted right now - if only she didn't feel that empty, having saying no goodbye to the man.

Tenten closed her eyes to disperse all the feelings she has in her heart. He has given enough to her throughout her days here. He has given more than enough, and the least she could do was to wish him happiness with his new bride-to-be; his own cousin; the Hyuuga heiress herself.

She opened her eyes and smiled to Hinata, "If... If Neji hears about this and seeks for me..." She said slowly, mulling over words, "Please tell him not to look for me..."

Hinata's eyes widened by a tiny fraction. "Tenten... M-may I ask why..?" She asked softly.

"It's nothing." Tenten replied, smiling carefully, "He has gone through all the troubles helping me throughout the week I'm here, and this is how I pay him back, Hinata. Please tell him I'm sorry, too. He must be angry at me for causing these problems for him when he has enough problems without me on the top of the list." She laughed bitterly and looked at the Hyuuga heiress. Neji was going to marry this woman, that was what Hiashi has said, and the least she could give Neji for him was just to let him go and wish him happiness right now. "And... Hinata?"

"... Y-yes..?"

"Please tell him too that I'm wishing both of you great happiness on your new life together." The weapon mistress finished, closing her eyes to redeem those sorrowful feelings in her heart. She opened her dark orbs again, smiling at Hinata, "I really wish you a great life together."

"But-"

"Thanks, Hinata."

Without saying anything else, she left, pulling her heavy luggage behind her. Hinata's eyes narrowed sadly as she gave a painful sigh before leaving the gates of the Hyuuga compound too. After she left and the whole compound seemed to be very quiet, someone stepped out of the shadows of the trees.

"You fool." He whispered, more to himself than to anyone else, "I am never angry at you, Tenten…"

--

Tenten juggled her kunai playfully with her left hand as her other hand held the remote control, switching the channels of the television in front of her. She yawned lightly as she lied on the sofa, snuggling Shu-chan close to her chest.

She was relieved that her parents didn't even get angry at her for getting kicked out from the compound - they said it was not her fault, and she was glad that at least she still has supporters.

Three days have passed after she lost touch with the Hyuugas; not Hinata, not Neji, and most certainly of all not Hiashi. Even if Neji didn't try to look for her or anything, just like she has asked Hinata, she still felt disappointed knowing that the man made no effort in finding her, just to talk or anything like that.

She juggled her kunai again and aimed it carefully on the map of Konoha hung on the wall, and threw it carelessly, making the kunai stabbed on the small dot that represented Sunagakure.

She sweat dropped - where was her usually one-hundred-percent aim when she needed it? Her aim was completely off, yet she has no motivation to go training.

The weapon mistress took out another shuriken and gazed at the map again. Maybe if she tried to do something different this time, her aim would come back. Well, she didn't know whether it will work or not, but surely it won't hurt to try. The worst thing that could ever happen was the shuriken boomeranged and flew back to her and killed herself.

She closed her eyes and threw the shuriken randomly to the map. After hearing a stabbing sound, she opened her eyes and examined her result. The throw was still around Sunagakure, this time at the spot where Suna really was.

Tenten tensed up quietly as she straightened herself. Maybe it was a sign for her to go to out of Konoha for a while - yes, maybe it really was. She happened to need a change of setting and faces for a while - maybe migrating to Suna wasn't that bad of an idea.

She could pack up her clothes and move there, just for about three months settling down there before going back to Konoha. Or maybe she could stay there forever - living in the desert sounded quite challenging, and Tenten loved challenges.

"Tenten? What are you doing?" Tenten's mother entered the room, sipping a cup of hot tea. She was wearing a Chinese outfit similar to Tenten's - although it's light green, not pinkish like Tenten's, and her hair was tied into one bun instead of two, with some strands of brown hair deliberately left out for fashion. She was very alike Tenten in appearance, only older.

She, too, like Tenten, was a weapon mistress on her own, and her husband was a blacksmith. She waved her hand in front of her only daughter's face quizzically. No matter how strange your daughter was, it was still worrying to see her staring blankly at a map stabbed by a kunai and a shuriken, really.

"Mom, I think I'm going on a vacation." Tenten suddenly said, smiling to her mom. Seeing Xinxin's - namely Tenten's mom - eyes widened, she giggled a little. "I just want a change for a while... You know, taking a break from everything that has been happening insanely." The twenty four years old weapon mistress smiled softly, "Please? It wouldn't be long. I'm just going around Konoha, not far. I'll be back in a number of... days, I think." Going for months would be fun, but she didn't want to get out of the family again. Not now, at least.

"Well, I don't know, Tenten..." Xinxin looked bothered. "You could, I guess, but are there no missions you need to finish?"

"No, there are not. I've been completely losing the outside world when caged in that... Hyuuga estate." Tenten replied, shrugging, "I just wanna take a break, I guess." She smiled again, "So can I? Dad is at home, right? He's not somewhere far away and not going somewhere unreachable for quite a while right, Mom?"

Xinxin nodded and looked at her daughter. Sure, she did look tired from all the excitement of the week. "You look thinner, child. Do they feed you well in the compound?" She asked, stroking the loose strands of Tenten's hair slowly. As she nodded, the mother sighed, "Fine, you could go..." She agreed, although reluctantly, "Just don't go too long, get back soon, okay? We've missed you and we haven't even have 'The Talk' ever since you came back, Tenten."

"I know, Mom, I'm sorry." The weapon mistress said, her face growing sad. 'The Talk' was the time when the three of their family - a small one - gathered in a room and just spoke about things that they were thinking about. The last time they ever have 'The Talk' was the night before Neji 'proposed' to her, and at that time they were just talking about marriage and stuff. Ha! Talk about coincidence! "I promise I'll come back as soon as I get my mind calm and we'll have 'The Talk' as soon as possible, too, okay? I promise!" She smiled with determination.

Xinxin laughed. If there was something that her daughter stood out more than the other girls in their big clan - including thirty six small families and over seventy girls about Tenten's age, it was her determination. Tenten was always strong-willed, no matter when she was overwhelmed by problems or not. She stood alone, trying not to get too dependent on things, and there she was, being a successful kunoichi she really was.

"How's Neji-kun, Tenten?" She asked, having heard no news about her daughter's so-called former fiancée.

Tenten's face fell as she shrugged, trying with all her might to keep herself composed. "He's okay." She said at last, not wanting to make Xinxin worried. "I think he's fine. I haven't met him since I went home." She shrugged once more and gazed at her mother, "Mom, could we not talk about him, please?" She asked, standing up and went to the phone to call Tsunade to ask for days-off.

Xinxin silenced, remembering the long-haired, white-eyed Hyuuga prodigy. He was gorgeous, that she wouldn't deny, but no matter how gorgeous he was, if he hurts her daughter, there was no way he could just leave it like this. She has only met Neji twice, once was on Tenten's surprise birthday party that the prodigy himself has unexpectedly planned, while the second was when it was his birthday party - where Tenten has unexpectedly planned, too.

There was something between her daughter and the man of Hyuuga - that she knew.

It was all too obvious for a mother to realize that her daughter was half-in-love, even when Tenten herself didn't realize it. Or she didn't want to realize it. In Tenten's case, it was the second one. Being a sensitive mother and having fairly good motherly instincts, Xinxin could see that through her daughter.

The sparkles in her dark eyes whenever she spoke about the Hyuuga prodigy, the smile whenever he did something nice to the others, the blush whenever he was around, and the soft side she only shown to him. Oh, and the lightness in _his_ eyes whenever she was speaking to him, the cheerfulness so rarely seen, yet so skillfully hidden under _his_ cloudy eyes whenever she was around, and the very slight blush of pink on _his_ white cheeks whenever she did something to _him_. The facts that the two were in love were just obvious to her eyes, although still hidden by the label 'teammates' they held, yet the people involved were so oblivious to it almost made Xinxin laugh.

And so that was why Xinxin chose to just laugh when she saw Tenten bringing bag her clothes back to the house. Having mothers' eyes, she has seen through Tenten and has saw that her daughter felt very lost, indeed, but still chose to hide it from her parents. Her daughter was a proud, strong-willed, stand-alone kunoichi, and Xinxin trusted her. If Tenten wanted to keep a secret, let her be. It wouldn't be good to be nosy, anyway.

Xinxin, too, was grateful that her husband also didn't get angry at their only daughter. She wouldn't go as far as saying that he understood Tenten's problems, but it was safe to say that he, too, has seen through Tenten and noticed that she was lost.

If Tenten was still a teenager of seventeen or under, both of them will ask and will try to solve the problem together, but not now. Not when Tenten twenty four, an adult, whether they liked it or not, and it was best to let her deal with her own problems.

She should learn to be responsible when she was needed to, and she should learn to be happy when she should be.

It was all the rules of life.

"Tsunade-sama says yes, Mom!" Tenten called happily, jumping onto the sofa.

Xinxin smiled, "That's good news." She said softly, "Now let me help you packing. How many days do you say it's gonna be?"

--

_Neji,_

_Thanks for everything you have given me in the past week, although I don't look like it, but I guess I could say that I receive too much and give back too little to you. Well, and sorry. I know I must have caused you a lot of troubles - remember Shikamaru? 'Girls are troublesome', so just label me as 'troublesome' and hate me for life if you want to. I wouldn't go as far as saying that you will look for me, but if you really do, please forget about it and just leave me live my own life. Thanks for that, and yeah... I'm sorry, too. Remember: don't go looking for me._

_By the way, red roses look nice, don't they? I think some would be nice around the compound, Neji. The walls are too white that sometimes I freaked out for no reason. Well, don't mind me, though. It's just me and my stupid imagination… _

_Tenten._

_N.B.: I know Hyuuga Girls will never say 'Thanks', 'Yeah', or write a corny letter like this, but since I'm not one, forgive me for this, okay:P._

The Hyuuga prodigy smoothed the crumpled peach-scented paper, on his face an unreadable expression. He looked at the book she left - it was the book he gave her; a book of flowers names' meanings. At that time, he was only going to tease her, but who knows that she will return the book to him like this? This letter was slipped inside the book, already crumpled because god-knows-why, but her quite neat handwriting was still readable.

He has heard about her incident with Shizuka and Reiko, and was enraged by the siblings' actions, although he knew he couldn't do anything. Sure, he was a branch member, but he was a branch member important to the head family. That alone made his life twice harder, remembering that Hiashi really believed and trusted him.

If he looked for Tenten now, it would meant that he was betraying herself, knowing that she didn't want him to look for her, and it would also meant that he was betraying the whole clan, since Hiashi-sama would hate him and probably punish him on looking for a girl who has, apparently, broke the clan's sacred rules. He could be hated for life, and he didn't want that to happen, now would he?

Unconsciously, Neji's hands flipped the colorful book to the page that contained the meaning of red roses.

_Rose, Red: beauty, love, passion, prosperity._

The Hyuuga prodigy rose up, now utter determination reflected in his silvery eyes.

Damn her 'don't go looking for me's. Damn her sudden disappearance. Damn Hiashi-sama. Damn the clan. Damn this feeling that he couldn't seem to just let her go. Damn this nagging thing that he couldn't just leave her and live her own life. Damn his head for not wanting to forget about the problem. And most certainly of all, damn the part of him that says that he didn't love her.

_He was going to look for her._

**To be continued.**

--

**End Notes**

Umm, the letter is corny, I guess. That's one of the things that bothered me of this chapter, actually. The second thing is… the fact that I seem to write longer, longer and longer each time I write the chapters.

The writers' block has finally left me in peace (and guess what? After those three chapters of Bride-To-Be, it comes back _right_ again), and I guess this is the result. Oh well, don't blame me for wanting to write long chapters, okay? I love NejiTen too much… (Grin) By the way, the next update will take _very long_. I remind you, _very long_. I haven't written one sentence of it, and that is why. Sorry about that.

I'm in a very good mood nowadays. Ah yes, **Happy New Year**!!

Please review, and thanks!


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